Scotland beaten by West Indies in T20 World Cup opener

Men’s T20 World Cup, Group C, Kolkata

West Indies 182-5 (20 overs): Hetmyer 64 (36); Currie 2-23

Scotland 147 (18.5 overs): Berrington 42 (24), Shepherd 5-20

West Indies won by 35 runs

Scotland began their T20 World Cup campaign with a 35-run defeat by two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens, undone by Shimron Hetmyer’s blistering half‑century and Romario Shepherd’s five-wicket haul.

Having been drafted into the tournament late following Bangladesh’s boycott, the Scots had their moments but ultimately failed to match the quality of their opponents, who were winners in 2012 and 2016.

A fourth-place finish at last summer’s Europe Qualifier had looked to have cost Scotland a place at the 2026 edition, but handed a second chance, they proved they were not out of place on the big stage.

Chasing 183, the Scots were 37-3 in the sixth over when captain Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce came together in the middle and briefly ignited hopes of an upset.

The pair added 78 for the fourth wicket, with Berrington leading from the front with 42 from 24 balls but his departure with the score at 115-4 stalled their momentum.

West Indies then all but sealed the victory as Shepherd took four wickets in the 17th over, including a sensational hat-trick, to finish with 5-20.

Opting to bowl first, Scotland restricted West Indies to 182‑5 – a total they would have gladly accepted going into the final overs after coming under pressure from the brutal hitting of Windies duo Hetmyer and Rovman Powell.

Making their sixth appearance in the tournament, Scotland held their nerve through the powerplay as West Indies crawled to 33-0 before they struck twice in quick succession through Michael Leask and debutant Oliver Davidson.

Off-spinner Leask made the breakthrough in the ninth over to dismiss Windies skipper Shai Hope before Davidson, the 21-year-old left-armer, accounted for Brandon King, who had settled in well with a 30-ball 35, in the following over.

West Indies found themselves 66-2 at the halfway stage of their innings but some explosive batting from Hetmyer swung the momentum back in their favour with Powell also joining in with 24 from 14 balls.

Hetmyer, meanwhile, raced to his half-century in 22 balls and it needed a fantastic catch from Brandon McMullen at wide long-on to send back the batter in the penultimate over after a quickfire 64 from 36 balls.

Scotland may have been late additions to the T20 World Cup but Hetmyer was an even later arrival to India, only reaching Kolkata on the eve of West Indies’ opener because of issues with his visa.

But you would not have known it from his daring innings at Eden Gardens as the 29‑year‑old Guyanese left‑hander showed no hints of jet lag as he went about dismantling Scotland’s plans.

Hetmyer’s 22-ball half-century was the fastest ever by a West Indies player at the T20 World Cup, breaking Chris Gayle’s previous record from 23 balls against Australia in 2009.

He hit 40 of his first 52 runs in boundaries, and with support from Powell and Sherfane Rutherford who powered to a 13-ball 26, guided his team through a blistering middle phase as they went from 66-2 in 10 overs to 138-2 with five overs to go.

By the time he fell to a remarkable piece of fielding from McMullen, the damage had already been done with Hetmyer hitting six sixes and two fours at a strike rate of 178.

Hetmyer himself produced a brilliant one-handed catch to dismiss Scotland opener George Munsey early on but it was Shepherd who grabbed the limelight with the ball for the Windies.

With Scotland on 132-5 and needing 51 off 24, the all-rounder took four wickets in five balls to leave them reeling at 133-9.

Shepherd dismissed Matthew Cross, Leask and Davidson for his hat-trick before also picking up Safyaan Sharif’s wicket for the first five-for of his T20I career and giving West Indies a platform to build on as they eye a record third title.