West Indies beat Scotland by 35 runs in the T20 World Cup 2026 opener, thanks to Romario Shepherd’s hat-trick and Shimron Hetmyer’s record-breaking fifty.
India/Sri Lanka: In the second match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (Group C), West Indies got their title defence off to a strong start with a 35-run victory over Scotland at Eden Gardens. Scotland, replacing Bangladesh in the tournament, won the toss and elected to field, but West Indies posted a competitive 182/5 in 20 overs before bowling Scotland out for 147 in 18.5 overs.
West Indies Innings
West Indies started cautiously, reaching only 33/0 in the powerplay as Scotland’s spinners and fast bowlers kept things tight. Brandon King (35 off 30 balls) and captain Shai Hope (19 off 22 balls) added 54 runs for the first wicket, but both got out early, and West Indies were 58/2 in 9.2 overs.
Shimron Hetmyer then took responsibility and played a explosive innings of 64 runs off 36 balls (2 fours, 6 sixes), scoring a half-century in just 22 balls — the fastest T20 World Cup half-century for West Indies. His clean hitting, including sixes over long-on and mid-wicket, took West Indies to 139/3 in 15 overs.
Rovman Powell added 24 runs off 14 balls, while Sherfane Rutherford scored 26 runs off 13 balls (including four fours) before getting out just short of the final over.
Brad Currie was Scotland’s most economical bowler, recording figures of 4-0-23-2, but a total of 182/5 proved defendable on a good batting surface.
West Indies Scorecard (Batting)
Brandon King: 35 (30)
Shai Hope: 19 (22)
Shimron Hetmyer: 64 (36)
Rovman Powell: 24 (14)
Sherfane Rutherford: 26 (13)
Romario Shepherd: 6* (3)
Matthew Forde: 1* (2) Extras: 7 | Total: 182/5 (20 overs)
Fall of Wickets: 54 (Hope, 8.2), 58 (King, 9.2), 139 (Powell, 15.3), 175 (Hetmyer, 18.6), 175 (Rutherford, 19.1)
Scotland Bowling
Brad Currie: 4-0-23-2
Safyaan Sharif: 4-0-46-1
Michael Leask: 4-0-42-1
Oliver Davidson: 3-0-23-1
Scotland Inning
Scotland made a good start but lost their early wickets quickly: Michael Jones (1), Brandon McMullan (14), and George Munsey (19) were all out inside the powerplay, leaving them at 37/3. Captain Richie Berrington (24 off 42) and Tom Bruce (28 off 35) put together a fighting partnership of 78 runs, which helped maintain a run rate of around 9-10 per over.
However, Jason Holder (3/30) broke the stand by dismissing Berrington, and Gudakesh Moti got Bruce out LBW. Then came a turning point: Romario Shepherd bowled brilliantly, taking 5/20 in just 3 overs, including a hat-trick (dismissing Matthew Cross, Michael Leask, and Oliver Davidson in consecutive deliveries from 16.2-16.4 overs). Scotland went from 133/5 to 133/9 in just four balls.
Mark Watt (15) showed some resistance for a while but was caught off Holder’s bowling, and Scotland were all out for 147.
Scotland Scorecard (Batting)
George Munsey: 19 (15)
Brandon McMullen: 14 (12)
Richie Berrington: 42 (24)
Tom Bruce: 35 (28)
Mark Watt: 15 (12)
Extras: 8 | Total: 147 (18.5 overs)
Fall of Wickets: 7 (Jones, 1.2), 31 (McMullen, 4.3), 37 (Munsey, 5.4), 115 (Berrington, 13.2), 122 (Bruce, 14.3), 133 (Cross, 16.2), 133 (Leask, 16.3), 133 (Davidson, 16.4), 133 (Sharif, 16.6), 147 (Watt, 18.5)
West Indies Bowling
Romario Shepherd: 3-0-20-5 (hat-trick)
Jason Holder: 3.5-0-30-3
Shamar Joseph: 4-0-26-1
Gudakesh Motie: 4-0-29-1
Key Performances & Group C Context
Player of the Match: Romario Shepherd (5/20 + hat-trick) — his first T20I five-wicket haul.
Hetmyer played an aggressive innings and scored fifty runs which was a great start for the West Indies team. The West Indies team did a job with their death bowling and they fielded really well too. Guys like Powell and Rutherford and Hetmyer took some catches that helped the West Indies team a lot.
These things were really important for the West Indies team to win. Hetmyer was very good, with his batting. His fielding was great too.
Scotland put up a fight, with Berrington and Bruce doing a great job.. They really struggled with the different speeds of the ball and the spin that the other team used. The pace variation and spin were too much for Scotland to handle.
West Indies now lead Group C with 2 points. Scotland will look to bounce back in their remaining fixtures.