SCO VS AUS 1ST T20I

Right then, that is it from the first game but there's still plenty of more cricketing action to come in this series. The 2nd T20I will be played at the very same venue in a couple of days, i.e., Friday, 6 September. The match will begin at 1 pm GMT but you can join us an hour in advance for the build-up. Cheers!

Richie Berrington, the skipper of Scotland says they batted well at the start but couldn't really capitalize and credits Australian bowlers for doing well. Adds that they are disappointed with the way things ended but they will need to take what they can from this and if they execute things better, they can certainly do well. Talks about how they as a team want to get this kind of exposure against teams like Australia and they will have to keep the belief and play positively and try and come back stronger.

Mitchell Marsh, the captain of Australia says that it feels nice to start with a win and that they had an all round performance. Adds that the execution was great and the energy was positive as well. Appreciates the atmosphere and the crowd for loving cricket.

Travis Head is deservedly named PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his spectacular innings, smashing 80 runs off just 25 balls. He says it is a nice way to get underway and he and Marsh did well to get some runs in. Adds that he is enjoying the atmosphere in the camp and the fresh and new energy in the squad is nice. Says it was a tricky start when they lost Jake Fraser-McGurk and didn't know how the pitch would play like but with Mitchell Marsh at the other end, they managed to stick out a good partnership.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Mitchell Marsh won the toss and put Scotland into bat. The home side looked to be taking advantage of this and raced to 50 runs inside the first 6 overs but then, wickets started to fall and no one was willing to play the anchor role. Batters came in, had a few hits and went back as the Aussie bowlers capitalized and did amazingly well to keep Scotland to just over the 150-run mark.

Scotland knew at the break that they left more than a few runs out in the middle but weren't expecting to be blown away like that especially after Brandon McMullen got rid of Jake Fraser-McGurk on the third delivery of the chase. After the first over though, it kept on going from bad to worse as the lowest economy rate by a Scottish pacer ended up as 12.50 runs per over. The others went at over 15 runs per over and only Mark Watt stood out in that bowling attack. Watt picked up a couple of wickets for just 13 runs in his 2 overs but it wasn't nearly as enough to what Scotland needed.

Given the scoreline and how quickly 155 runs were chased down, one would hope that the exciting debutant, Jake Fraser-McGurk would have been at full flow but unfortunately for him, it was a three-ball duck for him on debut. Travis Head on the other hand has probably been the standout batter of 2024 and he was simply relentless. Head stitched together a mighty 113-run stand along with skipper Mitchell Marsh in just 34 balls and both of them were striking at more than 3 runs a ball. Marsh fell on 39 but Head went on to score 80 in just 25 balls before Josh Inglis played a fine cameo, 27 off 13 balls and Marcus Stoinis finished things off in style.

Records kept tumbling down in that run chase and we could have seen a few more go down as Travis Head missed out on a potential fastest T20I ton and Jack Jarvis managed to not concede a boundary on one of his 10 deliveries. All in all, it was entertainment galore for the fans out there but the home side have a lot to ponder upon.

'CARNAGE' - This is what seems apt to describe that batting display from the Aussies and they have hardly taken 45 minutes and a little under 10 overs to knock over a target of 155 runs. For a few minutes, it looked like the Aussies were playing backyard cricket but Scotland did manage to save face by at least picking up a few wickets.

SIX! FETCH IT! Jack Jarvis bowls another short ball and keeps it around off. Marcus Stoinis stands tall and slaps it over long on. The ball comfortably clears the fence for a biggie and Australia win the first game in this series by 7 wickets and absolutely establish themselves in Edinburgh.

Short and over off. Josh Inglis pulls it to deep square leg for a single. Australia are 5 runs away from the win.

FOUR! Jack Jarvis is really being taken apart here. He serves it full and around off. Josh Inglis creams this one through covers and finds the gap as well. The result is another boundary in this over.

FOUR! INNOVATIVE! On a length and around off. Josh Inglis shifts his posture and scoops it over fine leg. There is nothing the fielder can do apart from watching the ball roll towards the fence for four.

Flat and full around off. Marcus Stoinis goes for the reverse sweep but finds the fielder at point. A tight over for Mark Watt.

Good delivery! Tossed up and angled into the batter. Stoinis gets cramped for room and blocks it out.

Pitched fuller and around off. Inglis opens up his bat and sends it past point for yet another single.

Again back of a length and over off. Marcus Stoinis guides it through point for one more.