Romario Shepherd etched his name into the record books by becoming the first West Indies bowler to claim a hat-trick in T20 World Cup history. The milestone came during the clash against Scotland at the iconic Eden Gardens, where the all-rounder removed keeper-batter Matthew Cross, followed by Michael Leask and Oliver Davidson in the 16th over. Shepherd wasn’t done there, adding another wicket in the same over and finishing with an impressive five-wicket haul.
Chasing a target of 183, Scotland were in the hunt for much of the innings. However, the tide turned after skipper Richie Berrington was dismissed for 42, with Tom Bruce contributing 35. Once both batters departed, Shepherd’s fiery spell sealed the contest, as West Indies wrapped up a comfortable 35-run victory to launch their World Cup campaign in style at a venue where they famously lifted the 2016 title by defeating England in the final.
Shimron Hetmyer adjudged POTM
Batting first, West Indies had a poor start to the match as their openers, Brandon King and Shai Hope, were struggling in the middle. After Hope departed for 19 runs off 22 balls, Shimron Hetmyer was interestingly promoted to number three, who produced a stunning show with the bat. The 29-year-old went berserk in the middle, smacking a 22-ball half-century, which is the fastest-ever by a West Indies cricketer in T20 World Cup history.
Hetmyer eventually departed for 64 runs off 36 balls, while Rovman Powell made 24 and Sherfane Rutherford added 26. Courtesy of their effort, the Carribeans posted 182 runs on the board. However, when Hetmyer was in the middle, West Indies seemed to be on course to cross over 200.
Teams:
Scotland (Playing XI): George Munsey, Matthew Cross (wk), Brandon McMullen, Michael Jones, Tom Bruce, Richie Berrington (c), Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson, Mark Watt, Brad Currie, Safyaan Sharif
West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph
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