Historic! Zimbabwe qualify for T20 World Cup

HOBART: Zimbabwe sailed into the Super 12 for the first time, topping Group B after their five-wicket victory against Scotland on Friday.

Electing to bat, Scotland managed 132-6 with opener George Munsey top-scoring with 54. Pacer Tendai Chatara led a spectacular bowling show with figures of 4-1-14-2 as Zimbabwe restricted Scotland to a below-par 132 for six.

Chatara, who also became the first from Zimbabwe to take 50-plus wickets in T20 Internationals, checked the run flow with his accurate bowling.

Left-arm pacer Richard Ngarava (2/28) was a tad expensive, but he also gave a twin blow to Scotland who never managed to get going after captain Richie Berrington opted to bat.

Zimbabwe's chase was not without hiccups but Craig Ervine produced a captain's knock of 54 and Sikander Raza smashed a breezy 40 as they overwhelmed the target with nine balls to spare.

Raza earlier chipped in with 1/20 with his off-spin to be adjudged man-of-the-match.

"It's satisfying and humbling and emotional as well," player-of-the-match Raza, who also took a stunning catch and claimed a wicket, said.

"I said to (Ervine) 'give me 8-10 balls and I'll try to win it as quickly as possible. You're the one who's going to take it deep'."

Zimbabwe join India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh and the Netherlands in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage.

Brief Scores: Scotland 132/6 in 20 overs (George Munsey 54, Calum MacLeod 25; Tendai Chatara 2/14, Richard Ngarava 2/28) lost to Zimbabwe 133/5 in 18.3 overs (Craig Ervine 58, Sikandar Raza 40; Josh Davey 2/16, Brad Wheal 1/26) by five wickets. Agencies

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