Scotland began their T20 World Cup campaign with a 35-run defeat by two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens, undone by Shimron Hetmyer’s blistering half‑century and Romario Shepherd’s five-wicket haul.
Having been drafted into the tournament late following Bangladesh’s boycott, the Scots had their moments with the ball and bat but ultimately failed to match the quality of their opponents, who were winners in 2012 and 2016.
A fourth-place finish at last summer’s Europe Qualifier had looked to have cost Scotland a place at the 2026 edition, but handed a second chance, they proved they were not out of place on the big stage.
Chasing 183, the Scots were 37-3 in the sixth over when captain Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce came together in the middle and briefly ignited hopes of an upset.
The pair added 78 for the fourth wicket, with Berrington leading from the front with 42 from 24 balls but his departure with the score at 115-4 stalled their momentum.
West Indies then all but sealed the victory as Shepherd took four wickets in the 17th over, including a sensational hat-trick, to finish with 5-20.
Opting to bowl first, Scotland restricted West Indies to 182‑5 – a total they would have gladly accepted going into the final overs after coming under pressure from the brutal hitting of Windies duo Hetmyer and Rovman Powell.
Making their sixth appearance in the tournament, Scotland held their nerves through the powerplay as West Indies crawled to 33-0 before they struck twice in quick succession through Michael Leask and debutant Oliver Davidson.
Off-spinner Leask made the breakthrough in the ninth over to dismiss Windies skipper Shai Hope before Davidson, the 21-year-old left-armer, accounted for Brandon King, who had settled in well with a 30-ball 35, in the following over.
West Indies found themselves 66-2 at the halfway stage of their innings but some explosive batting from Hetmyer swung the momentum back in their favour with Powell also joining in with 24 from 14 balls.
Hetmyer, meanwhile, raced to his half-century in 22 balls and it needed a fantastic catch from Brandon McMullen at wide long-on to sent back the batter in the penultimate over after a quickfire 64 from 36 balls.
But by then, the Windies were well and truly in command, and despite some tidy death bowling from Brad Currie, who finished with figures of 2‑23, they posted a total that proved out of Scotland’s reach.