The two-time champions West Indies began their T20 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive 35-run victory over Scotland at Eden Gardens on Saturday, underlining their intent in the global tournament.
Captain Shai Hope emphasised the importance of making a strong start in a World Cup, noting that there is little room for error in multi-nation tournaments.
“There’s no margin for error in these tournaments. It’s not like a bilateral series where you’ve got another game to get back into the series if you come up on the losing end, but a good start is all we’re after,” Hope said after the match.
After being put in to bat, West Indies got off to a steady start with a 50-run stand between Brandon King (35 off 30 balls) and Hope (19). However, regular wickets saw the side slip to 58/2.
Shimron Hetmyer then shifted momentum with a blistering 64, stitching together an 81-run partnership with Rovman Powell (24 off 14 balls). The late flourish helped West Indies post 182/5 in 20 overs.
Hetmyer was later named Player of the Match for his decisive knock.
During his innings, Brandon King also surpassed Chris Gayle to become West Indies’ third-highest run-getter in T20 Internationals, with 1,916 runs in 79 matches.
Chasing 183, Scotland struggled early as the West Indies bowlers struck three times inside the powerplay to reduce them to 38/3.
Scotland skipper Richie Berrington (42 off 24) and Tom Bruce (35 off 28) attempted to rebuild with a 49-run partnership. However, their dismissals triggered a collapse.
Romario Shepherd turned the match decisively in the 17th over, claiming a hat-trick and finishing with figures of 5/20. He dismissed Matthew Cross, Michael Leask and Oliver Davidson in successive deliveries before adding another wicket in the same over as Scotland crumbled to 133/9.
“That was phenomenal,” Hetmyer said of Shepherd’s spell. “That’s just not often you see a guy get five and a hat-trick as well. He’s really been working hard on his bowling, and I’m really proud of him.”
Shepherd’s effort marked only the second hat-trick in T20 Internationals for West Indies.
Jason Holder also contributed with 3/30 and reached a personal milestone, becoming the first West Indian to claim 100 T20I wickets. He also joined an elite group of bowlers to have taken 100 wickets in each format of men’s international cricket.
Scotland were eventually bowled out for 147 in 18.5 overs, handing West Indies a convincing 35-run win to open their campaign.
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