Keemo Paul’s five-for powers West Indies to 24-run win over India

West Indies have levelled the five-match T20I series against India 2-2 after defending 247 for 3 in Hyderabad, setting up a decider in Bengaluru. The visitors won the fourth T20I by 24 runs, with Keemo Paul taking 5-41 after Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102.

The result gave West Indies their third win on the tour of India and kept the series alive. It also marked the first successful defence of the tour for West Indies. The latest victory has made the series a landmark contest for the visitors, who now have the chance to complete its conclusion after the decider.

Paul’s performance was central to the result because India had made a rapid start while chasing. He removed Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in the fifth over before returning later to take three more wickets. The five-wicket haul was the second of Paul’s T20I career and made him the first West Indies bowler to record multiple T20 five-fors.

Hope gives West Indies a strong platform

Having been put in to bat first, West Indies began quickly at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Hope and Jewel Andrew added 52 runs from 26 deliveries for the opening partnership. Andrew scored 21 before Axar Patel dismissed him, but the wicket did not shift the momentum towards India.

Hope continued to score at a brisk pace and reached his half-century from 28 deliveries. By halfway through their innings, West Indies had scored 118 runs for the loss of two wickets. Hope’s innings became the foundation for a total that India would have to chase at a demanding rate.

Shimron Hetmyer contributed 33 and Rovman Powell made 24 as West Indies continued to add runs around Hope. Sherfane Rutherford then increased the scoring rate alongside Hope. The pair added an unbeaten 91-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Rutherford’s innings included four boundaries and three sixes. Hope remained at the crease through the closing stages and reached 90 with only two balls left in West Indies’ quota of 20 overs. He struck consecutive sixes from those final two deliveries to complete his century.

West Indies finished on 247 for 3. Hope was unbeaten on 102, while Rutherford finished on 49 not out. Hope’s hundred was his second of the ongoing T20I series and his fourth overall on the tour, with the other two centuries coming in ODIs.

The century also gave Hope a record within West Indies cricket. He became the first West Indies player to make three T20I hundreds. Hope has remained unbeaten three times on the tour, and those three unbeaten scores have come in the matches West Indies have won.

India make an explosive start

India began the chase strongly, scoring 60 runs in the first four overs. Samson led the attack with 56 from 23 deliveries. His innings contained four sixes and six fours, while Abhishek Sharma faced only three deliveries during the first three overs.

Samson’s innings initially appeared to be developing into a chase that could put India in control. The early scoring raised the possibility that the tour could produce the highest successful chases for both teams in both formats. India eventually scored 62 runs in the last four overs, despite West Indies not bowling badly during that period.

The surface, however, offered West Indies ways to slow the chase. The relaid Hyderabad pitch was quite dry, and there was some assistance for bowling in both innings. West Indies used the dryness by bowling into the surface, while the lack of dew and the big square boundaries also helped them manage the conditions.

West Indies had also been more secure in the field during this match. For the first time in the series, they held every catch that came their way. One of the most important catches came from Hetmyer to end Samson’s innings.

Paul cramped Samson with a short delivery. Samson still made a strong connection with the hook, but Hetmyer completed a difficult catch by throwing the ball in the air, stepping over the boundary and returning to take it calmly. The dismissal began India’s decline after the explosive start.

Paul changes the course of the chase

Ishan Kishan began with a well-timed six off a slower ball but could not time the next delivery, which was delivered at pace. He holed out to deep midwicket. Paul’s dismissal of Kishan followed his removal of Samson in the same over.

West Indies then used bowling changes and variations in pace to restrict Abhishek and Shreyas Iyer. The pair still added 30 runs in 3.4 overs, but that partnership was damaging for India in the context of the chase. The required rate and the loss of early wickets made it harder for India to sustain the momentum created by Samson.

Hope brought Gudakesh Motie into the attack despite two left-hand batters being at the crease. India needed 122 runs from the last nine overs at that stage. Abhishek struck the first delivery from Motie for four, but the pitch offered enough grip for the bowler to induce a false shot.

The resulting catch at long-off removed Abhishek, who had made 29. Motie then produced another delivery that led to Naman Dhir being stumped for a golden duck. The two wickets came in consecutive deliveries.

India were reduced to 132 for 5. The match then tested the batting depth India had continued to rely on during the contest. Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy had to work hard to keep the chase alive.

A wayward 16th over from Shamar Joseph gave India another opening. Reddy hit two sixes in that over, which produced 21 runs and reduced the requirement to 59 from the last four overs. At that point, India needed fewer runs than West Indies had scored during their own death overs.

West Indies close out the defence

Romario Shepherd returned after missing the previous match because of an injury-forced absence. He attempted to begin the 17th over with a yorker, but Varma struck a low full toss for six. Shepherd then bowled into the surface for most of the over, using one yorker as a change-up.

The over ended with Varma hitting a skyer, and that shifted the match decisively towards West Indies. Shamar Springer bowled the 18th over effectively, putting the result beyond India. Paul then returned for the 19th over and took three wickets.

Paul’s figures ended at 5-41. His spell accounted for the key wickets that followed India’s rapid beginning and helped West Indies defend the highest total of the match. The performance also placed him in West Indies T20I history as the first bowler from the team to take multiple five-wicket hauls in the format.

The match finished with India choosing not to expose Arshdeep Singh to further damage after he was struck on the bicep. West Indies therefore completed a 24-run victory after restricting India to 223. The result gave them a second win in the series after India had won the opening match and the third match.

A high-scoring match shaped by the conditions

The match produced 470 runs in total, even though both innings contained some assistance for the bowlers. The score reflected the hitting strength of the modern batters while also showing how the surface and conditions influenced the contest.

West Indies used the dry Hyderabad pitch differently from India’s approach during the chase. Their bowlers went into the surface, and they benefited from the absence of dew and the large square boundaries. India, meanwhile, managed to slow West Indies at periods by using the dryness and getting some movement from the ball.

West Indies also built their total through contributions from several batters rather than relying only on Hope. For the first time in the series, Hope did not have to do all the running at the start of the innings. Andrew attacked Arshdeep Singh in the first over, which reduced the impact of the bowler who had neutralised Hope in the previous match.

Hope then attacked Mayank Yadav after Mayank had bowled a tight first over to Andrew. Hetmyer raced to 17 from five deliveries, helping West Indies reach 79 for 1 in the powerplay. Arshdeep’s figures at that point were 2-0-36-0.

When Hope took 19 runs from Naman Dhir’s first over, West Indies reached 109 for 1 after eight overs. India were then in a difficult position, although the visitors slowed slightly after Prince Yadav dismissed Hetmyer and the ball began reversing a little.

Powell, who had made three low scores before this match, took time before finding momentum. He struck four, six and four in Axar Patel’s last over. Even so, West Indies had managed only 76 runs in the final eight overs before the death overs, as India repeatedly used the wide yorker and accepted the extra runs from wides.

Rutherford took charge in Mayank’s final over. Hope then found a second burst of momentum and struck the final two balls for sixes, moving from 90 to 102 from 50 deliveries. Those late blows ensured that West Indies ended with the total that eventually proved sufficient.

Series now moves to the decider

The series began with India winning the first T20I by eight wickets in Lucknow. West Indies responded by winning the second T20I by six wickets in Ranchi. India then won the third T20I by 14 runs in Indore.

The fourth match in Hyderabad ended with West Indies winning by 24 runs. The result levelled the series at 2-2 and created a deciding match in Bengaluru. The decider will determine the outcome of a five-match T20I series in which West Indies have already produced three wins on the tour.

Hope’s unbeaten century and Paul’s five-wicket haul defined the latest West Indies victory. Hope provided the total, while Paul led the response when India threatened to turn the chase into another high-scoring win. Their performances allowed West Indies to hold their nerve, defend 247 for 3 and keep the series alive.