ICC World Cup Qualifiers started with an upset for Afghanistan as they lost their first game against Scotland by 7 wickets. Winning the toss, Scotland decided to bowl first and justified their decision by getting the Afghans all-out in 49.4 overs.
The target of 256 runs would still be a daunting one for the Scottish side against a clinical Afghan bowling attack. However, Calum McLeod's unbeaten 157-run knock saw Scotland overcome the target with ease.
Afghanistan, after losing 4 wickets at 71, were looking for a good partnership to bring them back into the game. Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran stood firm and did what was required at that point of time by sharing a 150-run stand.
Najibullah was out on 67 and Nabi clubbed 92 off 82 before getting run out. And following his dismissal, another collapse in their batting line-up saw the team end up on a total of 255 runs.
Bradley Wheal and Richie Warrington bagged 3 wickets each for Scotland. Safyaan Sharif also took 2 scalps and Mark Watt got one wicket under his belt.
While chasing down the total, Scotland lost two quick wickets while posting their first 21 runs but then Calum built a 208-run partnership, the highest stand for their team, with Richie Berrington. The former contributed 67 runs in the partnership while Calum registered the bigger chunk.
Mujeeb Zadran picked up 2 wickets for Afghanistan and Nabi got a wicket to his name. However, their efforts were not proven enough as the newly added Test playing nation started their campaign with a defeat.