New Zealand reaches historic highs thanks to Mark Chapman and Michael Bracewell in their fifties

With 18 sixes in their greatest T20I total, the visitors thrashed Scotland by 102 runs.

Scots 152 for 9 (Greaves 37, Neesham 2-9, Rippon 2-37) were defeated by New Zealand 254 for 5 (Chapman 83, Bracewell 61*, Main 2-44) by a margin of 102 runs.

On Edinburgh’s Princes Street, the renowned Johnnie Walker highball serves as the focal point of the prestigious whisky tour. The Scotch keyframe animation own website describes it as a “balanced combination of smoke, fruit, and fizz.” The liquid equivalent of the phrase might have easily applied when New Zealand’s famous highball concoction was on display at The Grange, a mile away.

Because a flawless combination of 18 sixes allowed New Zealand to score 254, their highest-ever T20I total, and win by 102 runs. The key components were half-centuries by Mark Chapman & Michael Bracewell, who both achieved respective T20I career highs. Chapman scored an impressive 83 runs in 44 balls, while Bracewell’s undefeated 61 runs came off just 25 balls.

Chapman began watchfully on four dots before launching seven sixes, starting the run with a straight one. Hamza Tahir ducked short and was smoked for the first four and then the final six while Mark Watt, the birthday boy, delivered a straight-arm punch that fizzed to the boundary.

In his first professional hit since mid-April, he also dragged a Chris Greaves drag down to Watt on the boundary, but there was little sign of evident rustiness.

On the other hand, Bracewell shouldn’t have made any in the first place. Richie Berrington, the captain of Scotland, will moan about a drop in the blankets all night long. As clean as it gets, Bracewell, a relative novice to international cricket, strikes the ball, and that was especially clear in Ali Evans’ 19th over, which ended up going for 26.

He scored 4, 4, 4, 6, and 6 off the final five balls of the over with a combination of deftness and power. Slower balls were awaited on and tucked away either side of the wicket.