Hobart, Oct 19 (IANS): Scotland continued to impress in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup as opener Michael Jones hit a magnificent 86 to carry the side to a massive 176/5 against Ireland in their Group B match of the first round at Bellerive Oval on Wednesday.

It was a dominant innings for Scotland, who hardly kept any foot wrong from the time of winning the toss and electing to bat first. Jones was unarguably the star of Scotland's innings, hitting six fours and four sixes in his 55-ball 86, at a high strike-rate of 156.36.

After losing his opening partner George Munsey in the second over of the innings, Jones had to be cautious as well as adjust to the conditions. After passing through the initial phase, he then came out swinging with his array of shots, and looking delightful in hitting a majority of his boundaries through the leg-side, including one six landing on the roof of the stadium.

Jones was involved in two useful stands for Scotland -- 59 runs for the second wicket with Matthew Cross (28) and 77 runs for the third wicket with captain Richie Berrington (37). Though Jones fell in the 19th over of the innings, Scotland still managed to get 54 runs off the last five overs to finish with a strong total.

Ireland, on the other hand, were a bit sloppy in the field with Gareth Delany dropping Jones at deep backward square leg in the 15th over. Moreover, Curtis Campher, who was Ireland's best bowler by a mile, got only two overs to bowl, while Delany (0/28 in three overs) and Barry McCarthy (0/59 in four overs) leaked 87 runs from their combined seven overs.

Brief scores: Scotland 176/5 in 20 overs (Michael Jones 86, Richie Berrington 37; Curtis Campher 2/9, Mark Adair 1/23) against Ireland.