T20 World Cup: Shimron Hetmyer and Romario Shepherd lead West Indies to victory over Scotland

Scotland began their T20 World Cup campaign with a 35-run defeat to the two-time West Indies champions at Eden Gardens, falling behind a half-century from Shimron Hetmyer and a five-wicket haul from Romario Shepherd.

Having been called up to the tournament late after a boycott by Bangladesh, the Scots had their moments with ball and bat but ultimately failed to match the quality of their opponents, who won in 2012 and 2016.

A fourth-place finish in last summer’s European qualifiers looked to have cost Scotland a place in the 2026 edition, but they were given a second chance, proving they were out of place on the big stage.

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

The duo added 78 runs for the fourth wicket, with Purrington going from the front with 42 off 24 balls but his departure on 115-4 halted their momentum.

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

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

In their sixth appearance in the tournament, Scotland held their nerve with power play as the West Indies crawled to a 33-0 lead before scoring twice in quick succession through Michael Lisk and debutant Oliver Davidson.

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

West Indies found themselves 66-2 down midway through their innings but some explosive batting from Hetmyer brought the momentum back in their favor as Powell also joined in with 24 off 14 balls.

Meanwhile, Hetmyer raced to a half-century in 22 balls and needed a brilliant catch from Brandon McMullen wide wide to bring the strike back in the penultimate over after a quickfire 64 off 36 balls.

But by then, the Windies were well and truly in command, and despite some lethal bowling from Brad Currie, who finished with figures of 2-23, they posted a total that proved beyond Scotland’s reach.