West Indies vs Scotland Live Score, T20 World Cup 2026: Seam-bowling all-rounder Romario Shepherd produced a sensational spell of ...
West Indies vs Scotland Live Score, T20 World Cup 2026: Seam-bowling all-rounder Romario Shepherd produced a sensational spell of 5-20, including a hat-trick, as two-time champions West Indies defeated Scotland by 35 runs in their Group C clash of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Shimron Hetmyer had earlier set up the commanding win with a fluent 64 and taking the West Indies to 182/5, before Shepherd sealed the contest with a fiery burst in the death overs – taking four wickets in five balls of the 17th over.
It also made Shepherd the first bowler to pick a hat-trick in the ongoing tournament and tenth overall in the history of the competition. Scotland were going well in the chase by reaching 115/3 in 13.1 overs, with skipper Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce, former New Zealand international, threatening to take the game deep.
But Jason Holder struck a decisive blow by dismissing Berrington to get his 100th T20I wicket scalp and from there with Shepherd also striking to get his second hat-trick in the format, Scotland’s innings unraveled and were bowled out for 147 in 18.5 overs – losing their last seven wickets for just 32 runs.
After nearly a month of discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board, the ICC were ultimately compelled to replace Bangladesh with Scotland, resulting in a dramatic entry for the Europeans just two weeks before the tournament got underway.
Bangladesh were scheduled to play four group matches in India, three of them in Kolkata, but the BCB stayed firm on its decision not to travel, citing "security concerns".
The chain of events was triggered on January 3, when the BCCI instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad amid worsening ties between India and Bangladesh.
Matters escalated the following day when the BCB informed the ICC that the Bangladesh team would not travel to India for its matches and held its ground, clearing the path for Scotland’s inclusion based on rankings.
However, Scotland, who finished fourth in the European Qualifier behind the Netherlands, Italy and Jersey, have insisted they are far more than last-minute replacements.
"We're very sympathetic towards Bangladesh players. But we still massively believe that we should be here," left-arm spinner Mark Watt, one of Scotland’s most experienced campaigners with 77 T20Is and 82 ODIs, said on the eve of the opener.
"We had a blip in the summer and we believe that we should be here and we believe that we can be beating teams higher ranked than us. So there's no second guessing our invite into this tournament. We're all ready to go," he added.
Shimron Hetmyer had earlier set up the commanding win with a fluent 64 and taking the West Indies to 182/5, before Shepherd sealed the contest with a fiery burst in the death overs – taking four wickets in five balls of the 17th over.
It also made Shepherd the first bowler to pick a hat-trick in the ongoing tournament and tenth overall in the history of the competition. Scotland were going well in the chase by reaching 115/3 in 13.1 overs, with skipper Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce, former New Zealand international, threatening to take the game deep.
But Jason Holder struck a decisive blow by dismissing Berrington to get his 100th T20I wicket scalp and from there with Shepherd also striking to get his second hat-trick in the format, Scotland’s innings unraveled and were bowled out for 147 in 18.5 overs – losing their last seven wickets for just 32 runs.
After nearly a month of discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board, the ICC were ultimately compelled to replace Bangladesh with Scotland, resulting in a dramatic entry for the Europeans just two weeks before the tournament got underway.
Bangladesh were scheduled to play four group matches in India, three of them in Kolkata, but the BCB stayed firm on its decision not to travel, citing "security concerns".
The chain of events was triggered on January 3, when the BCCI instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad amid worsening ties between India and Bangladesh.
Matters escalated the following day when the BCB informed the ICC that the Bangladesh team would not travel to India for its matches and held its ground, clearing the path for Scotland’s inclusion based on rankings.
However, Scotland, who finished fourth in the European Qualifier behind the Netherlands, Italy and Jersey, have insisted they are far more than last-minute replacements.
"We're very sympathetic towards Bangladesh players. But we still massively believe that we should be here," left-arm spinner Mark Watt, one of Scotland’s most experienced campaigners with 77 T20Is and 82 ODIs, said on the eve of the opener.
"We had a blip in the summer and we believe that we should be here and we believe that we can be beating teams higher ranked than us. So there's no second guessing our invite into this tournament. We're all ready to go," he added.