Hetmyer, Shepherd blow away Scotland as West Indies start T20 World Cup with statement win

West Indies crush Scotland in T20 World Cup 2026 [Source: @ICC/x]West Indies crushed Scotland in the opening Group C match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Shimron Hetmyer and fast bowling all-rounder Romario Shepherd both came to the fore for the Caribbean to douse Scotland’s spirited fightback. Here, we take a look at the entire highlights from the second match of the T20 World Cup 2026 between West Indies vs Scotland, as it panned out at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, February 7. Shimron Hetmyer races West Indies to 182 Being put into bat first, West Indies started off with a 54-run partnership between Brandon King and opening partner and captain Shai Hope. While Hope struggled to get going in his 22-ball 19, King smeared four boundaries and a six in his sizzling 35 at the top of the order until both well-set openers were dismissed by Michael Leask and Oliver Davidson respectively in quick succession. Tottering at 58-2 at the halfway stage of the innings, Shimron Hetmyer at number three bludgeoned 64 from just 36 balls and formed an electrifying 81-run partnership with Rovman Powell. Hetmyer raced to his half-century from just 22 balls to attain a huge West Indies record in a T20 World Cup game, surpassing former opener Chris Gayle in the process. Powell (24 off 14) and Sherfane Rutherford (26 off 13) both unleashed cracking cameos in the backend of the innings as West Indies mounted 182-5 in 20 overs. For Scotland, fast bowler Brad Currie picked up the wickets of both Powell and Rutherford and conceded just 23 runs in the high-scoring innings. Safyaan Sharif (1-46), Oliver Davidson (1-23) and Michael Leask (1-42) also chipped in with a wicket each. Romario Shepherd derails spirited Scotland Scotland lost opening batter Michael Jones to Jason Holder in just the second over of the run-chase for a single. Fellow opener George Munsey and number three Brandon McMullen both squandered their starts inside the powerplay as Scotland slipped to 37-3 inside the first six overs. Captain Richie Berrington at number four led his side from the front with a courageous 42 from 24 balls. The cricketer shared a counterattacking 78-run partnership with Tom Bruce (35 off 28) until both were dismissed in the space of an over to Holder and Gudakesh Motie. With Scotland attaining command at 115-3 in 13 overs, they soon slipped to 133-9 courtesy of a sensational five-wicket haul from Romario Shepherd. The fast-bowling all-rounder conceded just 20 runs in his three-over spell, while Jason Holder delivered the knockout blow to claim 3-30 as West Indies bowled out Scotland for just 147. West Indies tops Group C points table With West Indies securing a comprehensive 35-run win, they took the pole position in Group C on the opening day of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Their NRR currently reads a formidable 1.295, and West Indies will now face England on February 11 in Mumbai. A ravaged Scotland team will stay back in Kolkata to face Italy in a couple of days’ time to keep their Group C campaign moving forward.