Scotland and Afghanistan opened their inaugural Desert T20 accounts at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Cricket Stadium on Saturday with resounding wins over Hong Kong and Ireland respectively.

The first match of the day saw a strong Scotland side post a 24-run victory over a patchy Hong Kong. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Scotland finished their innings at 189 for 3, as a 127-run partnership between MacLeod and Berrington helped cement the target. Hong Kong were unable to find their rhythm with the bat, concluding their innings at 165 for 6.

In the second match of the opening day, a very in-form Afghanistan convincingly defeated a determined Ireland by 5 wickets. A thoroughly entertaining game of cricket thrilled a very enthusiastic 5,000-strong Afghanistan crowd, and from the first ball, Afghanistan’s performance on the field was successful in keeping Ireland’s runs tight, seeing them finishing with a total of 125 for 6. Afghanistan started their chase strong, and after a slight taper, picked up pace to ultimately secure the win at the end of the 15th over.

Match one’s Man of the Match was awarded to Scotland’s Calum MacLeod, and match two’s to Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi.

Today's (Sunday) matches start at 2 p.m. local time, when Netherlands play Oman, followed at 7 p.m. with hosts UAE up against Namibia.

Entry to the Zayed Cricket Stadium is free.