Hope ton, Keemo Paul five-for help West Indies level T20I series 2-2

The newly laid Hyderabad pitch laid out another run-filled story, but West Indies’ bowlers snatched control at separate points in India’s pursuit of 247, giving a rare win for a team defending a total on this tour.

Without another century from Shai Hope, the jumbled cameos of Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Nitish Reddy would not have been possible. Later, India's chase was derailed by Keemo Paul's clever changeups at the back end. The series ended in Bengaluru with his five-fer and Gudakesh Motie's restrictive spell.

Hope used Jewel Andrew, who had returned from injury, to bat against an unchanged Indian team. With a straight six off Arshdeep Singh's second ball, the teen set off West Indies' boundary frenzy. The pace was set by a 17-run over, and Hope hit his fourth tour-high with his blistering form.

Mayank Yadav tried to pepper them with early pace, but overdid it at times: one particular bouncer flew over Samson’s head. With a patchy outfield, West Indies relied heavily on clearing the boundary, racing to 79 for 1 - their highest T20I Powerplay score against India. Hope was ruthless to anything too full and hittable, accessing the ‘V’ like he always does, and using his wrists and timing to hoick balls on the leg-side.

India made a breakthrough with Axar Patel's Powerplay entry, but Shimron Hetmyer quickly got going, picking out slot offerings from Arshdeep Singh that were under the pressure. One of the wickets so far, Naman Dhir, gave 19 runs in his lone over against Hope, which was a bad matchup.

The fact that the new batters didn't let the current tempo slow down was a highlight for West Indies. With a clever bouncer, Prince Yadav caught Hetmyer off guard, but Rovman Powell quickly contributed to Axar's 22-run victory. Hope had already sped up to 75 by the time Sherfane Rutherford entered the room. As West Indies soared past 200, the left-hander tore into Mayank's final spell, scoring 22 runs. Mayank would later mess up a Rutherford catch, as would Tilak off the final ball, unable to sight a straight hit that gave Hope a century off the final ball.

Samson almost took control of the Powerplay when Abhishek Sharma barely got the strike and started the chase with a single blow to Roston Chase's head. From his second over, Chase gave 25 runs, and by the third over, they were 50/0.

But, on a dry surface with no dew, West Indies’ seamers utilised the pitch much better, changing the pace to keep India’s assault in check. India suffered their first defeat when Paul struck off his first ball, a short ball that was placed well in the field. Ishan Kishan fell after three balls while attempting to repeat a six.

Without a strike, Abhishek Sharma was unable to get going, earning 29 out of 24. India's middle order stagnated as a result of that, Shreyas Iyer's 16 off 11 and Naman Dhir's first-ball duck. Contrary to the West Indies, India’s batters couldn’t capitalise on the short balls by pacers, eventually managing just 32 off 31 at that length. Later, Iyer and Hope noticed that the pitch had a few bounces and held up a little.

Tilak Varma and Nitish Reddy adjusted well to forge a recovery, putting together 70 runs in 5.2 overs, but the late surge quickly fell through when both departed, leaving India’s tail with a mountain to climb.

This was the first time West Indies defeated India in India while defending a total in T20Is, after six failed attempts.