Sean Williams stroked a brisk fifty before the bowlers ensured a second straight win for Zimbabwe, beating Scotland by 11 runs in the World Twenty20 in Nagpur yesterday.
Electing to bat, Zimbabwe suffered from regular wicket-fall but Williams’ 36-ball 53 enabled the side to post 147 for seven, a score which proved enough against a seemingly brittle Scotland batting. Skipper Hamilton Masakadza gave the new ball to his brother and left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza who bagged four wickets to help bundle out Scotland for 136 in 19.4 overs, in the must-win Group B match.
Zimbabwe though had a terrible start after a mid-pitch collision between the openers which resulted in the run out of Hamilton and an injury to Vusi Sibanda’s chin. The incident forced a six-minute stoppage time but did little to improve Zimbabwe’s batting prospects as wickets continued to tumble against a discipline Scottish attack.
Williams then mixed the right dose of caution and aggression to guide the side to a respectable score with some help from lower-order batsmen Malcom Waller and Elton Chigumbura.
The Scotland batting also faltered against an inspired Zimbabwe attack that rattled the top-order to reduce them to 20 for four in 3.1 overs. Richie Berrington and captain Preston Mommsen did put up some fight with their 51-run sixth wicket stand but Zimbabwe bowlers made sure they had the last laugh.  
Left-arm spinner Wellington bagged four scalps while medium-pacer Tendai Chatara and Donald Tiripano picked up two wickets each. Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza was pleased with the victory. “We played really well, the guys are starting to gel and it’s looking positive for us. The boys are believing in themselves more and going out and impressing themselves,” Masakadza said
On the other hand, Scotland captain Preston Mommsen was disappointed with the early exit. “It was a difficult start for us, they bowled well up front and we had the chance to have a crack at the end. We knew we had to be positive, and had that partnership with Richie Berrington gone on another two or three overs, we might have made it,” Mommsen said
It was the second group win for Zimbabwe, who had beaten Hong Kong in the opening game and will need to top the group to move into the Super 10 stage. Zimbabwe face next Afghanistan in a match which is likely to determine the outcome of the group.
Scotland lost their opening game to favourites Afghanistan by 14 runs, and will play Hong Kong next knowing it will be their last game in the tournament.
Brief scores
Zimbabwe 147/7 in 20 overs (Sean Willians 53, Elton Chigumbura 20, Mark Watt 2/21) bt Scotland 136 in 19.4 overs (Richie Berrington 36, Preston Mommsen 31, Wellington Masakadza 4/28, Donald Tiripano 2/20) by 11 runs.