Hope, Paul help West Indies force series-decider
Hope hundred, Paul fifer give Windies much to play for in Bengaluru
West Indies 247 for 3 (Hope 102*, Rutherford 49*; Prince 1-36) beat India 223 all out (Samson 56, Tilak 43; Paul 5-41) by 24 runs
The West Indies defeated India by 24 runs in the fourth T20 International in Hyderabad on Wednesday to set up a decider in the five-match series. Captain Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford put on an unbeaten 91-run partnership to take the Caribbean side to a mammoth 247 for three, before Keemo Paul’s five-wicket haul led a polished bowling effort to restrict India’s explosive batting line-up.
The victory levels the series 2-2 and sets up a decisive contest in Bengaluru.
It was at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad that India amassed 297 for 6 against Bangladesh in 2024. And despite their huge total today, it was far from a fluent innings from the West Indies; there were noticeable periods of lulls. They had other factors going against them as they stepped out to defend.
Positives, from a bowling perspective, for the visitors had been hard to find throughout this series. Not to mention that if you were going to assemble a World XI batting line-up, it probably wouldn’t read too far from this current Indian top-order.
After a quiet first over, in which Roston Chase conceded seven runs, Sanju Samson put his head down. He took two maximums and a boundary from the second, then accounted for all but one of the 25 runs scored off Chase in the third.
Samson raced to a 20-ball fifty, pushing India to 60 without loss from four. Keemo Paul then came into the attack with a double-bang, removing Samson (56 from 23) with the first delivery of his spell before sending Ishan Kishan (6) back three balls later. India were 67 for two after five.
At the end of the sixth, the hosts had progressed to 80 for two but, in a more curious matter, Abhishek Sharma had only managed a run-a-ball eight at that point. The third-wicket stand between Abhishek and captain Shreyas Iyer produced just 30 from 22 before the latter fell to Shamar Springer for 16 at 97 for three.
Hope had held Gudakesh Motie back until the 12th, and he produced a double-wicket strike upon his introduction. He had Abhishek (29) caught at extra cover and Naman Dhir (0) stumped in consecutive deliveries, reducing India to 130 for five.
Yet, nothing was guaranteed for the West Indies. Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy were threatening the unthinkable heading into the final phase of the innings. They hit three sixes in four balls between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th before Romario Shepherd stomped out the threat, having Tilak (43 off 25) caught at 200 for six.
West Indies snatched India’s last hope when Paul dismissed Reddy for a 20-ball 41 with 36 still to get. Reddy’s wicket was the first of three for Paul in the 19th, followed by that of Prince Yadav (0) and Axar Patel (3), completing his second 5-wicket haul in the format with figures of five for 41.
Confirmation of West Indies’ victory came when Arshdeep Singh (5) retired hurt in the final over with India 223.
The West Indies had earlier registered their highest opening partnership of the series, with Hope and Jewel Andrew fashioning a half-century stand for the first wicket. The 19-year-old began by attacking the experienced Arshdeep, smashing a maximum and two fours from the second over of the innings.
The pair put on 52 from 27 balls, with the skipper joining the attacking party, teeing off on Prince before Andrew was trapped lbw by Axar in the fifth. Shimron Hetmyer's introduction sped the game up even more. The left-hander orchestrated a 19-run over off Arshdeep in the sixth, as the West Indies finished the first phase 79 for one.
The second-wicket stand was halted at 58 from 24 when Hetmyer was caught and bowled for a 12-ball 33 by Prince in the ninth. At 110 for two, however, the platform was set, with the visitors scoring at well above 13 runs per over.
If the Hope-Hetmyer stand was a storm, then the partnership—certainly the start of it—between Hope and Rovman Powell that followed was a calm. They managed just 19 runs off the first 16 balls before Powell hit two boundaries and a maximum off Axar in the 12th, which was finished off with a six from Hope to inject impetus back into the innings.
The West Indies were 151 for two with eight overs still to bat. They lost only the wicket of Powell (24 off 17) for the remainder of the innings. Now, despite another modest start between Hope and Sherfane Rutherford with just 29 off the first 19 balls, the duo combined for 91 unbeaten runs from just 43 deliveries.
It was during this quiet period that Hope brought up a 28-ball fifty.
It was a dose of doubles from Mayank Yadav’s 17th over, which saw them wrestle back control from the hosts. Rutherford was responsible for three of the four boundaries in that six-ball span, which read: 4, 1, 6, 4, 6, 1.
Windies breached the 200 margin with three overs to go. Still, they managed just two boundaries in the next two. Reddy maintained control of proceedings for the first four deliveries of the 20th, conceding seven before Rutherford eventually turned the strike over to Hope, who was 10 runs away from a third T20I hundred.
The skipper then cleared the rope down the ground on consecutive occasions to get to the landmark in 50 balls, pushing his side to a competitive 247 for 3. Rutherford, in the meantime, finished unbeaten on 49 (26 balls).