Cricket World Cup 2015: Afghanistan beat Scotland in nail biting finish

In a spectacular cricketing encounter, Afghanistan defeated Scotland by one wicket in the final over of a Group A fixture of the 2015 ICC World Cup at the University Oval in Dunedin on Thursday.

Afghanistan won the toss and Mohammad Nabi decided to bowl first. The Asian side bowled out the Scots for 210.

Matt Machan and Majid Haq top scored with 31 runs each, while Alasdair Evans managed to score 28 runs off 37 balls helping Scotland score more than 200 runs.

Shapoor Zadran was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, after he picked up four wickets giving away 31 runs in his 10 overs.

Dawlat Zardan dismissed both the openers Calum MacLeod and Kyle Coetzer, and ended up with three wickets in his kitty.

When Afghanistan came in to bat, Javed Ahmadi and Nawroz Mangal got off to a decent start, but the latter returned to the pavilion after scoring just seven runs. He was closely followed by Asghar Stanikzai.

Afghanistan looked like they were in deep trouble, but Ahmadi maintained his cool and dug deep into the Scottish bowling attack. He managed to get 51 runs off 51 balls and was well supported by Samiullah Shenwari, who top scored with 96 runs and brought his team close to victory.

However, after Shenwari's dismissal the Afghan middle order collapsed, but Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran put up a brave front under pressure and took their side all the way home.

Samiullah Shenwari was adjudged the man of the match for his brilliant knock of 96.