Mohammad Shahzad scored a brisk 61 to help guide Afghanistan to a vital 14-run victory over Scotland, in Nagpur on Tuesday, in the both teams' first game in Group B of the World T20 first round.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Afghanistan posted a competitive total of 170 for five in their 20 overs while Scotland could only reply with 156 for five.
The Asian side got off to good start with the bat as opener Shahzad and his captain Asghar Stanikzai (55) put on 84 for the second wicket after the loss of opening batsman Noor Ali Zadran (17) in the third over.
The burly frame of Shahzad was always putting the Scottish bowlers under pressure with his unorthodox style of batting, hitting the ball to all areas of the field.
Shahzad was eventually out with the last ball of the 13th over but he did a superb job in setting a good base for his side to get their formidable total.
Scotland themselves got off to a great start with the willow as openers Kyle Coetzer (40) and George Munsey (41) put on 84 in the first nine overs.
But both batsmen fell within two balls of each other and that was the catalyst for the European side to fall behind the required run-rate as they were tied down by the Afghanistan spinners.
The Scots eventually had to much to do at the end and came up 14 runs short of their target and must now look forward to the next game on Thursday against Zimbabwe to get their World T20 campaign back on track.
