Scotland vs England: 5 talking points

Scotland scripted a huge upset and the most memorable victory in their cricketing history by beating England by 6 runs at Edinburgh.

Put into bat by Eoin Morgan, a majestic 140 by Callum MacLeod along with fifties from Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey propelled the Scots to their highest ODI score of 371. This was 34 runs more than their previous best of 341 against Canada at Christchurch during the World Cup qualifiers in 2014.

Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett took two wickets each while Mark Wood took one.

In reply, Jonny Bairstow gave the visitors a flying start by smashing the Scottish bowlers right from the beginning. Bairstow powered to his hundred in just 54 deliveries, the third fastest in England's ODI history. Scotland found hope after Richie Berrington dismissed Bairstow.

The likes of Mark Watt and Alasdair Evans dismissed many of England's middle-order but Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett kept England in the chase.

Eventually, Scotland dismissed England for 365, winning the match by 6 runs. Mark Watt was the best bowler of the match with a spell of 3/55 from his 10 overs. Alasdair Evans and Richie Berrington took two wickets apiece with the former bowling the only maiden of the match.

With one of the most exciting matches of 2018 over, let's take a look at 5 talking points from the match.

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#5 The start from the Scotland openers

The openers added 103 for the first wicket

Scotland needed a good start in order to put up a competitive score against a powerhouse like England and they did get one.

Openers Matthew Cross and Kyle Coetzer began slowly by adding just one run to the scoreboard in the first over. However, they began to bat steadily and began to smash some brilliant boundaries against the England bowlers.

Both batsmen were mainly dealing in boundaries but skipper Coetzer smashed two glorious sixes- one off Liam Plunkett over wide long-off to bring up his fifty and another straight over long off in Adil Rashid's over.

The pair added 103 for the first wicket which was Scotland's joint 4th highest opening stand in ODIs. The partnership came to an end after Coetzer was dismissed for 58 from 49 deliveries.

The partnership gave Scotland a solid foundation on which their other batsmen cashed.

#4 Richie Berrington's contribution

Berrington got two very important wickets for England

Richie Berrington's contribution throughout the match was highly significant. Berrington came in to bat when Scotland lost Matthew Cross.

He batted rather calmly as Callum MacLeod was doing the work of the aggressor. Berrington hit three boundaries and a brilliant six over long on en route to his 39 from 54 deliveries. He was dismissed by Liam Plunkett thanks to a good running catch from Joe Root.

However, Berrington's biggest contribution for the Scots was with the ball. Jonny Bairstow was becoming a danger to Scotland through his hard hitting and he powered England to 159 in 17 overs and the required run rate was 6.45.

Berrington came in to bowl the 18th over and after conceding 6 runs in five balls, he got the wicket Scotland desperately needed.

#3 Scotland's partnerships

Scotland had some brilliant partnerships throughout their innings

Scotland's innings did not have one very massive partnerships but had some big partnerships.

The openers gave a brilliant start by adding 103 from 82 deliveries for the first wicket. Both openers fell in quick succession but that later turned out to be a minor setback.

Callum MacLeod and Richie Berrington added 93 runs from 89 deliveries for the third wicket before the latter departed. MacLeod then built a partnership of 107 from 83 balls for the fourth wicket with George Munsey.

The 5th wicket partnership lasted 33 deliveries but 53 runs came of them thanks to MacLeod and 22-year old Dylan Budge. By the time Budge got dismissed, only 5 balls were left but 11 runs came from the remaining deliveries.

Scotland's consistency in their partnerships was a huge reason behind their massive score.

#2 Jonny Bairstow's massive 105

Bairstow smashed a brilliant 105

Regardless of whom they were facing, England knew that chasing 372 was no walk in the park and they needed a strong start.

Jonny Bairstow gave England the start they needed by going after the Scottish bowlers right from the beginning. He was just unstoppable as fours and sixes were coming in quick succession.

Bairstow's aggression was such that Jason Roy decided to play second fiddle and simply save his wicket. Following Roy's dismissal, Bairstow continued to display aggression as he reached his century from 54 deliveries, the third fastest for England in ODIs. This was Bairstow's 5th ODI ton.

Within 17 overs, England's run rate was well above 9 and their required run rate was in the 6s.

However, Bairstow departed in the 18th over after scoring 105 from just 59 balls. His dismissal was the turning point of the game.

Nevertheless, Bairstow played a remarkable knock and this can be taken as a huge positive from this game by England.

#1 Callum MacLeod's magnificent knock

MacLeod played a magnificent knock

The biggest reason behind Scotland's win was Callum MacLeod's monumental knock. MacLeod came in to bat at No.3 following the dismissal of captain Kyle Coetzer. A few minutes later, Matthew Cross was also dismissed and Scotland now had two brand new batsmen at the crease with a good 35 overs left.

MacLeod batted beautifully as he was carving some sensational boundaries off the England bowlers. MacLeod went on to score his 7th ODI century from just 70 balls was also the first by a Scottish batsman against England.

He went on to smash 16 fours and three sixes and ended his innings at 140 from just 94 deliveries as Scotland reached their highest ODI score of 371. As a matter of fact, during Scotland's previous record ODI score of 341, MacLeod was the top-scorer with a career-best 175.

Unsurprisingly, MacLeod was adjudged the Man of the Match for his sensational innings.

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