RESULT
2nd Match, Group D, The Oval, June 06, 2009, ICC World Twenty20
(7/7 ov) 89/4
(6/7 ov, T:90) 90/3

New Zealand won by 7 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
3/19
ian-butler
Report

New Zealand blast their way past Scotland

Scotland set a challenging target, but New Zealand's big-hitters knocked off the runs in style

New Zealand 90 for 3 (Ryder 31, Taylor 21*) beat Scotland 89 for 4 (Coetzer 33, Poonia 27, Watson 27) by seven wickets
Scoreboard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
At the half-way stage of a match that rain reduced to a seven-over hitting contest, it looked as though there would be the second big upset of the tournament in two matches. Scotland had started in top gear and stayed there through their innings to set a challenging target, but New Zealand's array of big-hitters knocked off the runs in style with an over to spare.
The hardy fans who endured a frustrating wait for more than two hours were treated to a barrage of clean-hitting from both teams, but what stood out was the high quality of cricketing shots played. While the batsmen were aware of the pressing need for big runs, the match didn't descend into a slogfest.
Ryan Watson gave the crowd plenty to cheer by kicking off the game with a flurry of boundaries in the first over, and though he was dismissed in the third over, Kyle Coetzer and Navdeep Poonia blitzed 59 in 27 balls to keep a weakened New Zealand bowling - Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills were injured - on the backfoot.
Coetzer was particularly harsh on Jesse Ryder, a perfectly placed cut, a powerful loft over long-off, and a punch past extra cover getting him 14 off three balls. Poonia showed off his skills with a wristy clip to fine leg followed by a swat over midwicket in the sixth over. They could have reached 100 had it not been for the three wickets that fell on the final three deliveries off the innings, bowled by Man-of-the-Match Ian Butler.
New Zealand's nerves, in the face of such a big target, were eased by stand-in captain Brendon McCullum, who slammed four off-side boundaries off the first over. Not to be outdone, Ryder gave an exhibition of his range of hitting in the third over, blasting 20 runs off the first four balls to take New Zealand past 50.
The opening onslaught left Scotland in a hole, and their bowlers made it worse by gifting a bunch of no-balls. The fielding was below-par as well, with Gordon Drummond's miss of a simple skier from Jacob Oram in the fifth over epitomising the effort. Watson had tried to get Scotland back with a tight start to that over, but not only did Drummond fluff the chance, the ball rolled over for four vital runs as well. The wicketkeeper Colin Smith dropped a tougher opportunity off Ross Taylor later in the over, and was a bit tardy in attempting a stumping as well.
Scotland could not afford such slip-ups, and New Zealand duly completed the job in the next over, plundering 22, including three sixes off the first four balls.
The shortened match also meant Scotland's run-rate took a huge hit - they are now at -2.2 - which means they will mostly need a big win against a strong South Africa on Sunday if they are to stay in the tournament.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

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ICC World Twenty20

Group A
TEAMMWLPTNRR
IND22041.227
IRE2112-0.162
BAN2020-0.996
Group B
TEAMMWLPTNRR
ENG21121.175
PAK21120.850
NED2112-2.025
Group C
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SL22040.626
WI21120.715
AUS2020-1.331
Group D
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SA22043.275
NZ21120.309
SCOT2020-5.281
Group E
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SA33060.787
WI32140.063
ENG3122-0.414
IND3030-0.466
Group F
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SL33061.267
PAK32141.185
NZ3122-0.232
IRE3030-2.183