Match: Scotland v Ireland
Date: 20 January, Friday
Time: 5pm SGT/2:30pm IST/9am GMT
Competition: Desert T20
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
TV Channel: There is no live TV coverage in Singapore.
Live updates can be found on tournament's official Twitter handle, UAE Cricket handle
Overview
Scotland finished at the top of Group B table with three wins from as many matches and their last win came against group runners-up Oman on Thursday.
Pacer Shafan Sharif starred with the ball as he picked up three wickets to restrict Oman to 133 in 20 overs after which the Scottish top-order made light work of the target and once again proved their batting might.
Calum MacLeod has been in fine form in the ongoing tournament and is topping the batting charts with 115 runs from three Twenty20 International matches in the ongoing tournament. Their middle order also has a consistent batsman in Richie Berrington, who has hit 98 runs from two innings.
Skipper Kyle Coetzer would want his men to step up on the big day and deliver against their familiar foes. The right-handed batsman along with George Munsey are crucial at the top for Scotland.
On the other hand, Ireland faced their only defeat of the tournament against heavyweights Afghanistan but made light work of Namibia and hosts United Arab Emirates to seal a spot in the semi-final.
The Men in Green would be happy to have their batting star Kevin O'Brien amongst the runs after failures in the first two matches. The 32-year-old struck a match-winning 40 in their 24-run win over UAE.
Paul Stirling also is making it count at the top of the order while Boyd Rankin hit form with three wickets in their last group game. Pacer Craig Young, who was economical in the game against UAE, is likely to retain his place and the likes of leg-spinner Jacob Mulder adds variety to their bowling attack.
While Ireland have a slender (3-2) head-to-head advantage over Scotland, a lot on Friday depends on which team handles the pressure situation better.
Team News
Ireland
Possible XI: Paul Stirling, Stuart Poynter, William Porterfield (c), Kevin O'Brien, Gary Wilson (wk), Greg Thompson, Andy McBrine, George Dockrell, Jacob Mulder, Boyd Rankin, Craig Young
Scotland
Possible XI: George Musey, Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross, Calum MacLeod, Richie Berrington, Craig Wallace, Con de Lange, Safyaan Sharif, Josh Davey, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal
