Shai Hope stayed unbeaten for the third time on this tour of India, and once again it proved the exact recipe for a West Indies victory, forcing a winner-takes-all decider in a landmark T20I series.
Hope became the first West Indian to score three T20I centuries, anchoring a stunning batting effort in which every top-five batter scored between 21 and 49.
Keemo Paul then etched his name into the record books as the first West Indies bowler to claim multiple T20I five-wicket hauls, sealing his side’s first successful run defence of the tour.
On a dry, relaid surface in Hyderabad, 470 runs were scored despite noticeable assistance for the bowlers in both innings. India initially slowed the West Indies with late tailing movement, but the visitors countered by targeting the pitch hard, taking full advantage of the lack of dew and long square boundaries to withstand a terrifying Sanju Samson blitz.
Samson had launched a silken, devastating assault, racing to a 23-ball 56 and propelling India to 50 for 0 inside three overs. The match turned when Shimron Hetmyer held a brilliant boundary catch to dismiss Samson off Paul, stepping over the rope and back in to complete the relay effort.
From there, West Indies clamped down, stringing together 12 consecutive overs yielding 13 runs or fewer while holding every chance that came their way.
Earlier, Hope enjoyed vital top-order assistance as Jewel Andrew took down Arshdeep Singh early, negating the threat that had troubled the captain in the previous fixture. Hetmyer smashed 17 off five balls to lift the powerplay score to 79 for 1 before Rovman Powell added late momentum.
Sherfane Rutherford then provided explosive death-overs support, hammering an unbeaten 49 to allow Hope to reach his century with back-to-back sixes off the final two balls of the innings.
Gudakesh Motie struck a decisive double blow in the middle overs, dismissing Abhishek Sharma and stumping Naman Dhir for a golden duck.
Though Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy kept India alive in a 21-run 16th over, Romario Shepherd swung the tide back with clever pace-off deliveries, then Paul returned in the 19th over to bag three quick wickets and complete a memorable 24-run triumph. (Modified from Cricinfo)
Source: NEW ROOMS SITE
