Shimron Hetmyer didn’t have much time to get ready for the West Indies’ T20 World Cup opener against Scotland at Eden Gardens, having joined the squad
on Friday night. But that barely had any effect on his performance.

In the recent T20I series in South Africa, the Windies had challenged Hetmyer, essentially a middle-order batsman, to return to batting at No. 3 after almost seven months. Following his crucial runs in that position against the Proteas, the left-hander produced another innings of significance (64 off 36 balls) to lay the platform for the Windies’ 35-run victory over the Scotsmen at the Eden on Saturday.

Like Hetmyer, his teammate and all-rounder Romario Shepherd, too, had his moment of glory with a hat-trick — his second in the T20I format — and four wickets in the 17th over of the run chase, as Scotland were all out for 147 in 18.5 overs.

Scotland have been a tricky opposition for the Windies, having beaten them in the 2022 edition of the T20 Cup and once in the ODI format. On Saturday too, the Windies, put into bat, were sluggishly placed at 58/2 in the 10th over.

But till Hetmyer was out there, the Windies camp didn’t really have any need to panic. And he ensured they did not, smashing half a dozen maximums and a couple of boundaries that were massive in propelling the two-time champions to a competitive 182/5.

“Batting at No.3 is a lot different from doing so at Nos.5 and 6, because at 5 and 6 the ball doesn’t really move about and stuff like that. Batting at 3, it does a little bit more, but I guess because I have done it before, it’s just about some skills that I have to tap into again,” Hetmyer said later.

If his runs weren’t all, Hetmyer also took a fantastic one-handed catch at the deep to get rid off Scotland opener George Munsey.

Shepherd feat

The scenario was beginning to go beyond Scotland’s reach even before Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Shepherd struck thrice in as many balls to feature among the likes of Brett Lee, Kagiso Rabada and Pat Cummins. He is the first Windies cricketer with a hat-trick in the T20 World Cup.

However, his bowling form, especially with the one he shaped in a bit to dismantle the off-stump of Oliver Davidson for his second hat-trick in the format, should instil a little more confidence into the Windies bowling unit, which looked a tad under pressure during the 78-run fourth-wicket partnership between Scotland captain Richie Berrington and Tom Bruce.

Shepherd’s show with the ball and Hetmyer’s sixes gave the 18,114-turnout at the Eden some reasons to cheer. For sure, in a non-India game, those numbers at the stands weren’t bad at all.

Brief scores: West Indies 182/5 in 20 ovs (Shimron Hetmyer 64; Brad Currie 2/23). Scotland 147 in 18.5 ovs (Richie Berrington 42; Romario Shepherd 5/20, Jason Holder 3/30). West Indies won by 35 runs.