Brilliant innings of 157 runs not out by Calum MacLeod and Richie Berrington's all-round efforts helped Scotland overpower against Afghanistan by seven wickets in their World Cup Qualifiers opener at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Sunday (March 4). After winnings the toss and to bowl, Scotland managed to strike early through Bradley Wheal before Berrington picked up the next three wickets to leave Afghanistan at 71 for 4. Mohammad Nabi (91) and Najibullah Zadran (67) led the Asian team's revival with a 149-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, Scotland came back well during the death overs as Safyaan Sharif and Wheal ran through the batting order and ensured Afghanistan lost their last six wickets for only 35 runs to be bowled out for par score of 255 runs. Scotland started poorly in their reply, losing Matthew Cross and Kyle Coetzer to Mujeeb Zadran in successive overs. However, MacLeod and Berrington combined to take the game away from Afghanistan with their 208-run partnership, a record stand for Scotland. While MacLeod brought up a fine century, Berrington fell against the run of play, trapped in front by Rashid Khan. However, the dismissal came a little too late for Afghanistan as MacLeod registered his third 150-plus score in ODIs and remained till the end to see Scotland over the line in the 48th over.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 255 in 49.4 overs (Mohammad Nabi 92, Najibullah Zadran 67; Bradley Wheal 3-36, Richie Berrington 3-42) lost to Scotland 256/3 in 47.2 overs (Calum MacLeod 157*, Richie Berrington 67; Mujeeb Zadran 2-47) by 7 wickets.