West Indies Edge Scotland with Hetmyer's Heroics and Shepherd's Hat-Trick

Shimron Hetmyer's explosive 64 off 36 balls, including a record-fast half-century by a West Indian in T20 World Cup history, propelled West Indies to 182/5. Romario Shepherd then stole the show with a hat-trick and five-wicket haul (5/20), derailing Scotland's chase and securing a 35-run win for West Indies in their T20 World Cup opener. Darren Sammy's plan to promote Shimron Hetmyer to No. 3 is working wonders! Hetmyer's experience and power are paying off - he's scored 48, 75, and 48* in his last three innings at this spot. And he delivered big time against Scotland, scoring 64 off 36 balls. Smothered by Scotland's spinners, West Indies had managed just 33 runs in the Powerplay. But Hetmyer negated a slow pitch to lift his side from 58 for 2 in the 10th over to set Scotland a target of 183 with his 64 off 36 balls, 44 of those runs coming in boundaries. Handy cameos from Rovman Powell, who shared an 81-run stand with Hetmyer for the third wicket off just 37 balls, and Sherfane Rutherford helped push West Indies' total up. Their dismissals amid some tight bowling at the death by Brad Currie limited the damage for Scotland. Shimron Hetmyer's brilliant catch and Romario Shepherd's stunning five-wicket haul, including four wickets in five balls, led West Indies to a 35-run victory over Scotland in their T20 World Cup opener. Scotland's hopes were dashed despite a solid 78-run partnership between Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce for the fourth wicket. Shimron Hetmyer was unstoppable! He shrugged off his late arrival in India and launched a full-blooded assault, hitting 6 sixes in his 64 off 36 balls. He got off the mark with a massive six off Oliver Davidson, setting the tone for his explosive innings. He helped himself to two more in three balls off Michael Leask in the next over and from that point it felt like West Indies could finally breathe. But Hetmyer didn't ease up on Scotland's spinners, heaving Mark Watt into the stands over deep midwicket and producing a devastating slog-sweep for consecutive sixes in the next over, which went for 17 runs. Hetmyer's not done yet! Akeal Hosein's dramatic bow to him says it all - he took a spectacular catch to dismiss George Munsey, reducing Scotland to 37/3 inside the powerplay. What a start to the tournament for West Indies! Shepherd's hat-trick, which included Matthew Cross, Michael Leask, and Oliver Davidson, turned the game in West Indies' favor. Hetmyer's 64 off 36 balls, including a record-fast half-century by a West Indian, had set up West Indies' imposing total of 182/5. West Indies 182 for 5 (Hetmyer 64, Rutherford 26, Powell 24, Currie 2-23) beat Scotland 147 (Berrington 42, Bruce 35, Shepherd 5-20, Holder 3-30) by 35 runs