West Indies put in a professional performance with bat, ball and the field to outclass Scotland by 35 runs in Kolkata. West Indies looked determined out there and were the better side and were hungry for runs as well. Put into bat first, West Indies posted 182/5 in 20 overs on the back of Shimron Hetmyer’s explosive half-centuries and cameos from Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford and a 35 from Brandon King also helped.
While defending the score, Romario Shepherd picked up a hat-trick and 4 wickets in 5 balls including a five-wicket haul while Jason Holder picked up 3 wickets as Scotland were bowled out for 147 in 18.5 overs as they collapsed from 133/5 to 147 in no time. Richie Berrington looked good for his 42 and Tom Bruce looked good, but they couldn’t carry on with the show.
Shimron Hetmyer’s powerful half-century powers West Indies to 182/5
Put into bat first, Brandon King and captain cum keeper batter Shai Hope came out to bat for West Indies while Brandon McMullen bowled the first over for Scotland. King hit the first boundary away for a boundary. Both King and Hope hit occasional boundaries as Scotland bowled tight lines and lengths as West Indies made a sedate start in the powerplay. The powerplay score was 33/0 in 6 overs for West Indies.
Brandon King switched gears and took on the bowling post the powerplay. The duo put on 54 runs for the first wicket before Hope was the first one to go chopping on from a Michael Leask delivery from his pads. Shimron Hetmyer came to the crease next. King too fell after his opening partner as 4 runs were added to the tally before King fell for 35 off 30 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Oliver Davidson as the short and wide ball was taken by George Munsey at backward point.
Rovman Powell came out to bat next. From hereon, it was the Shimron Hetmyer show as he just plundered the Scotland bowling to all parts of the ground. Scottish bowlers bowled some loose deliveries as Hetmyer took full toll of it. Powell too was quickly off the blocks and gave Hetmyer good company from one end. These two aced the middle phase and took the game to the final phase of the game.
The duo of Powell and Hetmyer put on an important 81-run stand for the 3rd wicket before Powell was holed out in the deep off Bradley Currie as Jones took the catch. Powell fell for 24 off 14 balls with one four and two sixes to his name. Sherfane Rutherford came out to bat next in the death overs phase of the innings. Rutherford joined forces with Hetmyer as the West Indies were in acceleration mode.
Rutherford complimented Hetmyer really well as he was quickly off the blocks in the end overs. Hetmyer completed his fifty in 21 balls and accelerated further in the innings. The left-handed duo put on another 36 runs in quick time in 21 balls before Hetmyer’s wonderful innings came to an end as he fell for 64 off 36 balls with 2 fours and 6 sixes to his name to Safyaan Sharif as McMullen pulled off a stunner at wide long-on.
Romario Shepherd came out to bat next. Rutherford fell at the same score as he made 26 off 13 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name as he was holed out by Jones as Currie had another. Matthew Forde came out to bat next. Shepherd managed to hit a maximum off Currie as he finished unbeaten on 6 off 3 balls while Forde was unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls as West Indies finished with a mammoth 182/5 in 20 overs. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
Scotland had a mixed day with the ball. Bradley Currie was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/23 in 4 overs. Oliver Davidson bowled well for his 1/23 in 3 overs. Michael Leask finished with 1/42 in 4 overs. Safyaan Sharif finished with 1/46 in 4 overs. Mark Watt finished with 0/38 in 4 overs. Brandon McMullen bowled an over for 7 runs. This meant that Scotland now needed a mammoth 183 runs to win off 20 overs to pull off an upset.
Romario Shepherd’s 5-wicket haul including a hat-trick helps West Indies win easily.Â
Chasing a massive target of 183 for the win, George Munsey and Michael Jones came out to open for Scotland while Matthew Forde had ball in hand for West Indies. Scotland got off to a shaky start as only 7 runs were scored in the second over when Jones fell for 1 off 5 balls to Jason Holder. Brandon McMullen came out to bat next. Munsey and McMullen tried to forge a partnership to rebuild things for Scotland as they played ball to the merit of the ball.
The duo put on 24 for the second wicket before McMullen fell for 14 off 12 balls with one four and one six to his name as Romario Shepherd cleaned him up. Richie Berrington the captain came out to bat bat next. Another six runs were added to the score before Munsey fell inside the powerplay as Joseph dismissed him for 19 off 15 balls with 3 fours to his name as the catch was brilliantly taken by Shimron Hetmyer in the deep. Tom Bruce came out to bat next. ‘
The powerplay score was 38/3 in 6 overs and in deep trouble for Scotland. Berrington and Bruce got in and tried to rebuild proceedings before accelerating as well. They were behind the rate and took the score to 67/3 in 10 overs. The duo accelerated in the second half of the chase as Berrington and Bruce looked good out there in the middle. The partnership was flourishing.
West Indies felt the heat as the required rate fell below 10 all of a sudden in a matter of 3 overs. The duo put on 78 for the 4th wicket to bring Scotland on track before Berrington fell for 42 off 24 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Jason Holder. Matthew Cross came out to bat next. Bruce too followed Berrington back to the hut as 7 runs were added to the score before he fell for 35 off 28 balls with one four and 2 sixes to his name as Gudakesh Motie struck a major blow for his side.
Mark Watt came out to bat next. Cross and Watt tried to forge a partnership and added 11 runs to the tally before Cross fell for 11 off 11 balls with one four to his name to Shepherd. This is where Shepherd had his moment in the night. Michael Leask came out to bat and fell first ball to Shepherd for a golden duck as Romario was on a hat-trick. Oliver Davidson came out to bat next and was cleaned up as Romario got a hat-trick to seal the deal. Safyaan Sharif came out to bat next and fell for a silver duck to Shepherd who had 4 in the over. In 4 balls, Scotland went from 133/5 to 133/9 in 17 overs.
Bradley Currie came out to bat next. The game was over by now as Watt played a few shots to entertain the Scotland crowd a little bit. 14 runs were added for the last wicket before Watt fell for 15 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name to Holder. Currie remained unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls as Scotland were bowled out for 147 in 18.5 overs. 8 extras given by the fielding side.
For West Indies, it was all about Romario Shepherd who was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/20 in 3 overs including a hat-trick and 4 wickets in an over. Jason Holder ably supported him well for his 3/30 in 3.5 overs. Shamar Joseph finished with 1/26 in 4 overs. Gudakesh Motie finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. Akeal Hosein gave away 26 runs in 2 overs. Matthew Forde bowled 2 overs for 15 runs. So, West Indies won this game by 35 runs to begin their campaign with a win. Shimron Hetmyer was adjudged the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
Lots of action to come in the World Cup 2026 as India will now take on USA in the 3rd match of the day from Mumbai starting at 7 PM IST. More to come for West Indies and Scotland in the coming days.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: Defending Champions India Aim To Make Statement Win Against USA