Scotland vs Australia 2nd T20I Live Score Updates

It is a packed house at The Grange today and the same is expected for Saturday as well. Conditions do look grim but even that has not stopped the fans from coming and supporting their team and sport.

Australia's captain, Mitchell Marsh, says that they would have bowled first as well. Looking at the overhead conditions, he says that this feels quite far away from home. Hopes to get off to a good start and take it from there. Informs that they have made one change with Aaron Hardie coming in for Riley Meredith.

Scotland's skipper, Richie Berrington says that he wants to make use of the moisture under the surface and anything else that might be available. Expects a better bowling show today but is also guarded against getting anything easy. Is looking forward to some early wickets with the new ball. Manages to remember all the 5 changes made to his playing XI for the day. Impressive.

Wow. That's some number of changes. As expected, Australia have rested a fast bowler and made that sole change with Hardie replacing Meredith but Scotland have made as many as 5 CHANGES. Part of those welcomes the experience of Greaves and Sole. So we can definitely expect a better bowling display from the hosts this afternoon.

Scotland (Playing XI) - George Munsey, Michael Jones (IN FOR OLLIE HAIRS), Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington (C), Charlie Tear (WK) (IN FOR MATTHEW CROSS), Michael Leask, Mark Watt, Chris Greaves (IN FOR JACK JARVIS), Chris Sole (IN FOR CHARLIE CASSELL), Brad Wheal and Brad Currie (IN FOR JASPER DAVIDSON).

Australia (Playing XI) - Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (C), Josh Inglis (WK), Aaron Hardie (IN FOR RILEY MEREDITH), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Cameron Green, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett and Adam Zampa.

TOSS - We have our first wish come true. The game was pushed back due to foggy conditions which have lifted slightly. The flip of the coin has happened and it has gone the home side's way. Heads was the call from Mitchell Marsh but it came down as Tails. SCOTLAND HAVE ELECTED TO CHASE. From what we saw in the first game, the conditions got better as the game wore on. The Scots will hope that is the case here as well.

Talking about more updates, India are raving about their latest sensation - MUSHEER KHAN. In one of the ongoing Duleep Trophy matches between India A and India B in Bengaluru, Musheer's side, India B, were rocked at 94/7 - only to finish on a commanding 321 - 181 of which was scored single-handedly by Musheer Khan. Given that he is just 19 years old, his future does look bright, as long as he maintains this consistency. In another game happening in Anantapur, between India C and India D, another upcoming youngster - MANAV SUTHAR - a left-arm orthodox spinner - is staking his claims with a 5-fer in his team's second innings with the ball. Of course, there are big names in this competition but given that the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami could not be playing for too long, with due respect to their fitness, these domestic tournaments always serve as an eye for the next Rohit, or the next Kohli or simply, the next big Indian for the future. All the best to all these youngsters and future aspirants.

Now that we have talked about England, let's take a peek into their T20 cricket played with the red ball. Ha ha, just an alternative term for Bazball, aye? And with Brendon McCullum being appointed as England's coach for white-ball cricket as well, one can just imagine the different types of records that could be broken by the creators of the sport. Coming to the match, we are talking about the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at the Kennington Oval, which begins from today. Pretty much the usual has happened so far, with the hosts hammering 8 fours and a six in 90 balls - that's a boundary (four or a six) every 10 balls. And as usual, Dan Lawrence has struggled to find out where his off stump is and gone early while at the other end, Ben Duckett has already raked up 51 inside almost an hour. England were rollicking along at 76/1 after 15 overs when the skies started to get further greyish and that further led to some precipitation. If comments were expected to be trusted on social media regarding that game, the ones covering that match for today might well have an early homecoming - but be careful, one short day means long, extended other days. So, all the best, guys.

TOSS DELAYED! Boooooooooooooooo... Let's be honest. All those who are staying in the UK or following the matches happening in Europe, we all saw this coming, didn't we? The weather forecast for Friday does not look promising at all, albeit England might have to bear most of the brunt. But there will be some effect on their neighbours and hence, this game could be interrupted frequently. As of now, the toss has been pushed back to 1 pm GMT, with the match start predicted to be hopeful at 1.30 pm GMT. Fingers crossed.

What's in this series for Australia? With no disrespect to anyone, not much. If they win, they don't stand to gain much as they were always expected to win and if they lose, they will be wary of what the English press would address them, ahead of their next series. Wednesday's approach, especially the batting, seemed to suggest that Australia want to be the dictating force or the enforcer and not want any bowler settle. There is no Glenn Maxwell in this series and they have got to do without David Warner now, but the exciting Jake Fraser-McGurk and Cooper Connolly will aim to fill in the slots of the ones missing or left the game. The bowlers were impressive in the first T20I but there is always room for improvement and as mentioned for Scotland, the Aussies too, would be looking to adapt quicker this time around.

No such worries in the Scottish camp as they get ready to go again at the Aussies. Their bowling was treated disdainfully on Wednesday but in Brandon McMullen, Charlie Cassell and Jack Jarvis, there is a lot of potential. Add to that, the experience of Brad Wheal, Mark Watt, Chris Greaves and Chris Sole, the bowling attack does pack a punch. There would have been plenty of criticisms regarding the hosts' bowling on Wednesday, but the main one would have been lack of adaptability to the conditions. The first T20I's pitch was on the slower side and had some bounce. Australia also struggled for the first half with the ball, but then adapted to the conditions beautifully, bringing the slower-ball bouncer into fray. Unfortunately for the home side, their bowling Powerplay was so devastating that their shoulders shrugged pretty quickly. But, we all learn from our mistakes and that is something which Berrington and the bowling management would have enforced upon the team.

Now-a-days, there is hardly cricket played on successive days by the same team. We usually see this happen primarily in West Indies where they play on both, Saturday and Sunday, to get maximum crowd attendance. Scotland and Australia are doing that in this series, with the second and third T20I slated for Friday and Saturday. This definitely means that there is going to be a rotation of players - especially the fast bowlers - from both sides. And on that note, the visitors have suffered a major blow. NATHAN ELLIS, who was supposed to lead Australia's fast bowling attack, in the absence of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, finds himself on the sidelines after an injury picked up in the recently concluded The Hundred sees him not only miss this tour, but the upcoming tour of England as well. Having always been chosen as a 'back-up seamer' in case if one of the 'Big Three' needed a break, Ellis would have been keen to establish his credentials as the leader for Australia's future. Sadly, the time has not come yet. 

Focus on the game and the commotion outside will settle down automatically. This has to be the mantra for Richie Berrington and his team. In reality, this series was never supposed to happen, as initially, Australia were to tour Ireland and then embark on their journey to England. But unfortunately, something happened at the last minute and Ireland backed off. Australia then requested Scotland and therein came a great opportunity. You can play as many close games as you want in World Cups, but unless you prove yourself consistently, you are not going to be looked at. Ireland's loss is Scotland's gain and with this 3-match T20I series, a win or even running the Aussies close could open the door for more bilateral series for Scotland.

Watt's so-called 'long ball' first made its issue in the latest T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, where a couple of balls were deemed as dead balls, as the batters claimed they were not ready. Mark himself admits that he is playing with the rules, going alongside the greyish area of the booklet but at the same time, it is not something which is outside the book. In fact, I remember a series in India, when the Aussies had visited the Indian shores shortly after the 2007 T20 World Cup. In that series, Sreesanth started to bowl from behind the stumps, but in front of the umpire. It helped him irritate the likes of Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds as he tried to get under their skin, but again, it was not something illegal. Given that MW openly issued a statement before the start of the series that Scotland would be after a little of blood, this might well be a bit of a counter by the Men from Down Under, as a response to someone trying to get under their skin.

But along with the records, came a bit of controversy as well. Not once, but twice. Mark Watt, Scotland's left-arm spinner, has devised this new technique of releasing the ball from behind the umpire. But the issue was not because of the distance but because of the time at which he was releasing the ball. In the first T20I, first Josh Inglis and then Marcus Stoinis, pulled out of the deliveries pretty late, almost after the ball was bowled. Now, as per the rule, a batter is allowed to bail out but before the ball is released. Understandably, both Inglis and Stoinis claimed they were not ready but a closer look at both deliveries suggests that both batters were looking at Watt with concentration, only to pull out at the last moment. So, as the on-air commentator suggested, is this a tactic from the Australian management to try and unsettle Watt and the Scots?

Plenty of records were shattered on Wednesday, most notably being the highest Powerplay score across all T20s, as the Aussies raced to 113/1 at the end of 6 overs. Not quite sure whether this is also a record of sorts but it does provide a good viewing - for a span of 14 balls, Australia scored just boundaries - four or a six. From 3.5 to 5.6, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh hammered 66 runs - that means 66 in 14 balls - ouch. It was serving as a good exercise for the umpires as they just kept stretching their arms sideways or extending them upwards.

Hello and a warm welcome to the second match of the T10 series between Scotland and Australia in Edinburgh. Oops... was that a typo? T10 or T20? Well, in the first match, Scotland did their bit, batting out their 20 overs, but with the ball, they could not even finish 10. More than the loss, it would be the manner of the loss which would be hurting the Scots and perhaps, it could be a blessing in disguise to play back-to-back T20Is to try and win the series, to forget that bashing.

... MATCH DAY ...

After a record-shattering, one-sided encounter in the first match, Australia will be eager to extend their dominance as they take on Scotland in the second match of this three-game T20I series. With the series at stake, Scotland face a must-win scenario to keep their hopes of defeating Australia and securing the series alive. The first match was nothing short of a spectacle for Australia, as they demolished Scotland’s bowling attack, chasing down 155 runs in just 9.4 overs. Despite a solid start from the Scottish batters on a pitch that typically favours runs, they couldn’t convert their promising starts into substantial scores. Wickets fell at regular intervals, and while the runs kept ticking, Scotland struggled to maintain momentum, ultimately losing wickets at crucial moments. With the ball, Scotland got off to a promising start but were soon undone by the heroics and sheer power of Travis Head, who, alongside skipper Mitchell Marsh, put together a blistering 113-run partnership off just 34 balls. This explosive stand set the stage for Josh Inglis to steer the chase to a quick conclusion. Scotland’s bowlers never managed to truly challenge the Australian batters, as boundaries flowed freely, making it a forgettable day for the bowling unit. On the Australian side, their relatively new pace attack took time to settle, but they bounced back strongly in the latter stages, stemming the flow of runs and consistently taking wickets, ultimately restricting Scotland to 154. Jake Fraser-McGurk, on his debut, didn’t have the outing he would have hoped for, but Travis Head stood tall, smashing an incredible 80 off just 25 balls, making the chase look effortless. Now, with both teams gaining valuable insight into how the wicket behaves, especially its slowness and variable bounce, the bowlers will look to adapt and make better use of the conditions. Despite taking a heavy beating in the first game, Scotland have the temperament to stage a strong comeback and will be hoping for sharper execution from their bowlers. Australia, while dominant, will aim to tighten up their bowling and secure another victory. Who are you backing to take this one? We’ll find out soon enough!