England watched nervously as Scotland played well against Australia in St. Lucia. Despite Australia's mistakes in fielding, they had enough strong players to win. With a perfect record in the group stage, Australia took England and the defending champions to the next round. In need of 181 runs to win, Australia faced difficulties midway through their turn to bat. However, Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head scored over fifty runs and made 80 runs cooperatively in just 44 balls. This assisted Australia in attaining victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Game Changer: The Final Overs

With 138/4 after 15 overs, Scotland were at ease to reach 200 or near to it, but right after executing it wonderfully in the early two phases of the match, they stumbled in the death overs, accumulating just 42 runs. This left Australia, deciding to bat, pursuing a total just above par on a unique pitch favoring aggressive batting.

Scotland:

Initial Overs – 54/1 (RR: 9.00, 4s/6s: 3/4)

In his first World Cup game, Ashton Agar got a wicket in the first over when Michael Jones hit the ball into his stumps. Scotland quickly recovered with exciting play by Brandon McMullen and George Munsey. The first boundary came in the third over when McMullen hit a six. He hit another six in the fourth over, raising Scotland's scoring rate. Both batters got lucky when Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head missed tough catches. Taking advantage, they scored 29 runs in the last two Powerplay overs, with Munsey hitting Glenn Maxwell for two sixes and a four, including a switch-hit over cover.

Middle Overs - 84/3 (RR: 9.33, 4s/6s: 3/6)

McMullen kept Scotland playing quickly, even when the other team spread out. They used the wind to their advantage. McMullen was great at hitting the ball straight, even against the wind. He hit a six over long-off and a four past backward point. In the next over, he hit another six and then cleared the ropes again. He achieved his milestone of 50 runs in just 26 balls, ranking second in speed. Munsey attempted to match this pace by hitting a six but was then dismissed for 35 runs from just 23 balls. Following this, Zampa delivered a calm over. McMullen's incredible 60-run effort came to an end when he attempted a large shot but was caught at the third-man short.

Death Overs - 42/1 (RR: 8.4, 4s/6s: 0/2)

Lacking various possibilities, Australia had a challenging day. However, they bowled well in the final five overs. Richie Berrington hit a six in the 16th over, but Ellis and Starc bowled so well that Scotland was unable to hit any boundaries in the 17th, 19th, and 20th overs. Berrington scored 42 runs, assisting Scotland to reach 180.

Australia:

Initial Overs – 36/2 (RR: 6.0, 4s/6s: 5/0)

Australia had a tough start chasing runs. Michael Leask bowled the first over and only gave away two runs. In the second over, David Warner hit the ball too early and Berrington caught it. After two overs, Australia was 3 runs for 1 wicket. Even though they hit four boundaries in the next two overs, their run rate was still low. Michael Jones missed a hard catch when Head was on 17 runs, but Safyaan Sharif got Marsh out in the last over of the Powerplay by making him hit a short ball to deep mid-wicket.

Middle Overs – 85/1 (RR:9.44, 4s/6s:7/4)

After the PowerPlay, Head hit a six, but Scotland got ahead when Mark Watt bowled Glenn Maxwell. Then, Stoinis came in and boosted the innings with two fours in his first three balls, including a reverse sweep. Scotland kept Australia under pressure, leaving them needing 89 runs in the last seven overs. In the 14th over, Stoinis hit two sixes and a four off Michael Leask, followed by two more boundaries in the next over, bringing his score to 47 off 24 balls and reducing the target to 60 runs in five overs.

Death Overs – 65/2 (RR:13.92, 4s/6s: 6/4)

Head played carefully, reaching his half-century in 45 balls. In the 16th over, he hit three sixes off Sharif, changing the game. Head got out for 68 trying for another six. Stoinis then hit three more fours but was bowled for 59 off 29 balls. By then, Scotland's hopes were gone.

Summary of Scores: 

Scotland was beaten by Australia by five wickets, with Australia scoring 186 for 5 in 19.4 overs (Travis Head 68, Marcus Stoinis 59; Mark Watt 2-34) while Scotland managed only 180 for 5 in 20 overs (Brandon McMullen 60, Richie Berrington 42*; Adam Zampa 1-30).