George Munsey's mind-boggling hundred sets records ablaze
The Scotland batsman came into the game having never hit a hundred in international cricket. He finished it with the fifth-fastest in all T20Is
ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Sep-2019
George Munsey whips one square on the leg side • Getty Images/Sportsfile
Scotland 252 for 3 (Munsey 127, Coetzer 89, Snater 3-42) beat Netherlands 194 for 7 (Seelaar 96*, Edwards 37, Evans 2-19, Neill 2-33) by 58 runs
George Munsey and his captain Kyle Coetzer smashed 200 for the opening wicket, setting all sorts of records along the way, in the second match of the tri-series against Netherlands, in Malahide. While Munsey struck 127 off only 56 balls, Coetzer made 89 off 50 balls to form the centrepiece of Scotland's 252 for 3 - their highest total and the sixth-highest overall in T20Is.
"It was one of the good days." @GeorgeMunsey reacts to today's win over the Netherlands in which he smashed 127* and enjoyed a 200-run stand with @MeerGoose11. #FollowScotland pic.twitter.com/0pcjCDERXp
— Cricket Scotland (@CricketScotland) September 16, 2019
Netherlands then had a good crack at the mammoth chase, thanks to captain Pieter Seelaar's 96 not out off 49 balls, but the scorecard pressure was too much to overcome. Eventually, they managed 194 for 7, Scotland winning by 58 runs.
The assault from Munsey and Coetzer made it to multiple pages in the record books. Their 200-run stand was the third highest for any wicket in T20Is, and Munsey's 41-ball ton was the fifth fastest in the format. It was his maiden hundred in international cricket too. All told, Munsey hit 14 sixes; only Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai has struck more in a T20I innings.
Munsey hit top gear when he walloped four sixes and two fours in Max O'Dowd's first over. Only Yuvraj Singh has made more runs in a single over in T20Is.
When Scotland were 200 for no loss in 15 overs, the highest total in T20Is was under threat, but some late strikes from Netherlands meant that they were kept to 252 for 3. Netherlands used as many as seven bowlers with only left-arm seamer Fred Klaassen conceding less than ten an over.
In pursuit of a tall target, Netherlands lost opener Tobias Visee for a duck and were then quickly reduced to 18 for 3. However, Seelaar rallied the side with wicketkeeper-batsman Scott Edwards in a 64-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Adrian Neill then made further inroads into the lower order and although Seelaar remained unbeaten, the target was well beyond Netherlands' reach.