Shimron Hetmyer scored a 19-ball half-century against Zimbabwe on Monday to better his own record for the fastest fifty by a West Indies player in T20 World Cup history.
Hetmyer struck 85 off just 34 balls at a stunning strike rate of 250 during West Indies’ T20 World Cup 2026 Group 1 Super 8 opener at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to record the highest score of his T20I career.
He finished as the highest scorer for the West Indies, hammering seven fours and as many sixes in a fiery knock that also took his tournament tally to 219 runs - the most by any player from the team.
"Means a lot," the 29-year-old Hetmyer said. "More so, because I didn't get a lot in the last game. I just want replicate the things I have been doing in the last two months.
"Not overthinking my batting," he added. "Been overthinking in the past. Now I am trying to think less and the bat will now do the talking and I react what's in front of me."
Shimron Hetmyer, who represents Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, had already broken the record for the fastest fifty by a West Indies player in the T20 World Cup during their tournament opener against Scotland earlier this month.
He had scored a 22-ball fifty en route to 64 off 36 deliveries at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to surpass Chris Gayle, who held the previous record courtesy of a fifty off 23 balls against Australia in the 2009 T20 World Cup.
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After walking into the middle with West Indies on 17/1 after 2.4 overs, Shimron Hetmyer wasted little time in seizing control and transformed the tempo of the contest with a blistering burst of his trademark power-hitting.
The belligerent left-hander got off the mark with a boundary to set the tone for what was to come.
Dealing almost exclusively in boundaries, Hetmyer struck two sixes in the seventh over before clearing the ropes three more times in the eighth to bring up his fifty.
However, he wasn’t quite done yet as he smashed two more sixes and three fours to continue punishing the Zimbabwe bowlers before finally departing in the 15th over with West Indies in a commanding position at 176/3.
Hetmyer’s 85 was his highest T20I score and his ninth T20I fifty. His previous best was an unbeaten 81 off 54 balls in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka.
The hard-hitting left-hander’s knock also helped propel West Indies to a total of 254/6 - their second-highest team score in T20Is and the best total of the T20 World Cup 2026.
Sri Lanka hold the record for the highest score in T20 World Cups, having made 260/6 against Kenya in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007.
West Indies’ highest total in T20Is came against South Africa in 2023 when they scored 258/5 in a losing cause.
Hetmyer is currently the batter with the most sixes in the ongoing T20 World Cup, with 17 maximums in five matches. The next-best is 11.
"I am not thinking too much about it," the West Indian said. "Feels good to accomplish something like that. We as a team haven't accomplished anything as this is just one game. I have my family back home who have been supporting me and that helps me doing better."
