West Indies stunned the mighty India at home by chasing down a mammoth target of 250 with as many as nine balls to spare. At the centre of the storm kicked up by the visitors was their captain Shai Hope, who finished unbeaten on 102 off just 45 balls.
Hope has been in scintillating form throughout this tour and seemed to remember what India’s ODI captain Shubman Gill said after the latter scored an unbeaten double century to help India chase down a target of 406 in the second ODI.
“250? Cool.” said Hope in an Instagram post after the match, which was almost exactly the same as what Gill had posted after he led India to victory in the second ODI.
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Sanju Samson’s 82 off 41 balls and a stunning finishing act by Tilak Varma and Shreyas Iyer helped India set up a score of 249/5. West Indies lost two wickets in a devastating opening over by Mayank Yadav and another to the pacer in the sixth.
However, the carnage then began with Hope hitting top gear with Sherfane Rutherford at the other end. The pair put up a partnership of 120 in 54 balls before Rutherford fell for 84 in 37 balls. Romario Shepherd then only picked up from where Rutherford left off while Hope continued to go big guns. It became pretty clear at the start of the 19th over that this could be the last of the match. Hope was batting on 90 off 42 balls at the start of it. He hit a six off the first ball and another off the third to raise his second T20I century and a famous win for the West Indies.
The five-match series is hence now level at 1-1, with the third T20I set to be played on Sunday in Indore. The West Indies also ended India’s winning streak in T20Is to 10 matches since Shreyas Iyer took over as captain in the shortest format.