Chris Gayle record broken by Shimron Hetmyer [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x]Shimron Hetmyer hammered down 64 runs off just 36 balls against Scotland in the opening West Indies match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Through the course of his whirlwind innings at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Hetmyer also surpassed former captain and legendary opener Chris Gayle for a huge T20 World Cup record for the West Indies team. His innings also laid out a strong foundation for West Indies after they were put into bat first by Scotland skipper Richie Berrington. Shimron Hetmyer punishes Scotland with record T20 World Cup 50 West Indies batted first and mounted 182-5 in 20 overs in the second match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on February 7. Batting at number three, blistering middle-order batter Shimron Hetmyer clubbed 64 runs from just 36 balls with two cracking boundaries and six huge sixes. Through the course of his innings, the 29-year-old also surpassed former cricketer Chris Gayle to record the fastest half-century by any West Indies player in a T20 World Cup game. It is worth noting that Shimron Hetmyer raced to his half-century from just 22 balls, i.e., one ball lesser than Chris Gayle’s whirlwind effort against Australia at The Oval back during the 2009 T20 World Cup in England. Overall, Hetmyer’s half-century against Scotland now stands as the joint-15th fastest fifty in T20 World Cup history. Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball mayhem against England from 2007 continues to remain the fastest half-century in a T20 World Cup match by a landslide. West Indies mount 182-5 upfront Batting first, West Indies openers Brandon King and captain Shai Hope formed a 54-run partnership in 8.2 overs together. Hope struggled to get going in his innings as the senior wicketkeeper-batter minted just 19 runs off 22 balls before getting knocked over by Michael Leask. King clattered four boundaries and a six in his 35 from 30 deliveries, before Shimron Hetmyer led West Indies’ counterattacking recovery with Rovman Powell. Both Hetmyer and Powell shared 81 runs together for the third wicket, with the former smearing 64 off just 36 balls to top-score in the innings. Sherfane Rutherford provided the slog-overs impetus with a cracking 13-ball 26 as West Indies mounted 182-5 in 20 overs. For Scotland, Brad Currie conceded just 23 runs from his four overs in the high-scoring innings with the added bonus of two crucial wickets. Safyaan Sharif, Oliver Davidson and Michael Leask also chipped in with a wicket each. Scotland fills in for Bangladesh If it was not for Scotland’s late inclusion, the Shai Hope-led West Indies team would be facing Bangladesh in their opening Group C match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Kolkata. The Scotland cricket team was included in the showpiece event by the ICC last month, after regular member Bangladesh refused to play their matches in India citing “security concerns”. With ICC refusing to relocate Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka, the Scotland team was picked on the basis of ICC rankings.
