Romario Shepherd hat-trick headlines impressive start for West Indies

West Indies secured a 35-run victory over Scotland in their T20 World Cup opener at Eden Gardens, propelled by Romario Shepherd's four-wicket 17th over that included a hat-trick.

Chasing 183, Scotland struggled early, losing Michael Jones cheaply. Brandon McMullen and George Munsey fell in quick succession, leaving them at 37 for 3. Captain Richie Berrington (42) and Tom Bruce (35) staged a recovery with a 78-run partnership, but Jason Holder broke the stand, becoming the first West Indian to take 100 men's T20I wickets. After Bruce's dismissal, the required rate climbed, keeping the game in balance until Shepherd's decisive over.

Shepherd removed Matthew Cross and Michael Leask to boundary riders before clean bowling Oliver Davidson for a duck to complete his hat-trick. He added a fourth wicket in the over, finishing with a five-wicket haul (5-20), effectively ending Scotland's challenge. Holder (3-30) wrapped up the innings.

Batting first after being inserted, West Indies had a slow start, scoring only 33 in the PowerPlay. They accelerated dramatically in the middle overs, scoring 105 runs between overs 7-15 at 11.66 per over. Shimron Hetmyer led the charge with a 22-ball half-century—the fastest by a West Indian in Men's T20 World Cups—targeting both spinners and pacer Safyaan Sharif.

Openers Brandon King (35) and Shai Hope were initially contained by tight Scottish bowling. King ignited the innings by hitting Sharif for a six and two fours, but both he and Hope fell in successive overs. At 66 for 2 after ten overs, Hetmyer (64) took over, hitting five sixes before his first four. Rovman Powell supported him, even refusing a single to exploit a favorable matchup, which he did by hitting a six. Powell fell next over to Brad Currie (2-23).

Hetmyer continued aggressively alongside Sherfane Rutherford, as West Indies plundered 103 runs from the 11 overs bowled by Scottish spinners. Sharif dismissed Hetmyer off a contentious full toss, with McMullen taking a spectacular catch at wide long-on. Rutherford fell soon after to Currie, as the final two overs yielded only 15 runs, limiting West Indies to 182/5—a total that proved more than enough.

Brief Scores: West Indies 182/5 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 64, Brandon King 35, Brad Currie 2-23) beat Scotland 147 all out in 18.5 overs (Richie Berrington 42, Tom Bruce 35, Romario Shepherd 5-20, Jason Holder 3-30) by 35 runs