Kolkata, Feb 7 (IANS) Scotland have won the toss and elected to bowl first against two-time champions West Indies in their opening Group C clash of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.

The West Indies are returning to the venue where they lifted the Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2016. Meanwhile, Scotland have come into the World Cup after originally missing out on qualification last year and being finalised as the last-minute replacement for Bangladesh.

Scotland have handed a T20I debut to young left-arm spinner Oliver Davidson, who's preferred over Chris Greaves, while pacer Brad Wheal misses out. “I think we'd quite like to have a chase this afternoon. Obviously it's a fantastic opportunity for us. This has been a quick turnaround, but I think everyone's just really excited to be here. There's a real positive feel around the group.

"To be here in India today to start the tournament is going to be fantastic. It’s come with a few challenges. There's been a lot of hard work that's gone on behind the scenes to get us all here. But since we've been here, we've had a fantastic week's prep in Bengaluru. So I think we're just raring to go and starting the tournament.

"We had some really good performances in that last World Cup and we see this again as a fantastic opportunity to show what we can do at the world stage. So there's a lot of experience within the team. They've been here before and we've also got some young players coming into the squad as well, which is really exciting," said skipper Richie Berrington.

Asked about memories from Scotland’s win over the West Indies in Hobart four years ago, Berrington said, “It was four years ago. Obviously really good memories from that day in Hobart. I think today we're obviously up against a quality West Indies team, but we know we've got a lot of quality on our side too. So hopefully we can show that and have a performance today,” he said.

The West Indies, meanwhile, have left out Roston Chase and have included both Matthew Forde and Shamar Joseph. “I haven't won a toss in a long time. For sure, some great memories. Unfortunately, I wasn't here, but we've got a couple of guys now who've been here and had that experience, so it's something that we can also use,” said captain Shai Hope.

Asked on how confident he is to emulate the heroics of 2016, Hope said, “You have to be. Every time you cross the line, you've got to think you've got to win the world tournament here again. It's important for us to have that confidence and belief within ourselves. I'm sure we can execute today and start our campaign well.”

He also said Shimron Hetmyer is ready to play in Kolkata. “Slightly delayed, but he's raring to go. It's always enjoyable (to lead the West Indies). Whenever you're representing the region, it's always a great feeling. But for me, it's good to be back in all three formats and contributing.”

Playing XIs

Scotland: George Munsey, Matthew Cross (wk), Brandon McMullen, Michael Jones, Tom Bruce, Richie Berrington (captain), Michael Leask, Oliver Davidson, Mark Watt, Brad Currie, and Safyaan Sharif

West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (captain & wicketkeeper), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, and Shamar Joseph

--IANS

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