Ranchi: Captain Shai Hope smashed an unbeaten 102 off just 45 deliveries as West Indies chased down a daunting target of 250 to defeat India by six wickets in the second T20I at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi on Friday.
Hope received explosive support from Sherfane Rutherford, who hammered 84 off 37 balls, and Romario Shepherd, who remained unbeaten on 34 off 13 deliveries, as West Indies reached 252/4 in 18.3 overs to level the five-match series 1-1.
The victory marked West Indies’ highest successful run chase in T20 Internationals and the second-highest successful chase in the format, behind South Africa’s pursuit of 259 against the Caribbean side in Centurion in 2023.
Chasing 250, West Indies suffered an early setback when Mayank Yadav dismissed Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer off consecutive deliveries to leave the visitors struggling at 9/2. Hope and Rovman Powell subsequently revived the innings, with Powell scoring 24 off 13 balls before Mayank removed him in the sixth over.
Rutherford then joined Hope and shifted the momentum with an aggressive counterattack. Hope reached his half-century off just 24 deliveries, while Rutherford took apart the Indian bowling attack, including an over from Axar Patel that yielded 23 runs.
Rutherford struck seven fours and seven sixes before Kuldeep Yadav ended his innings in the 15th over. By then, the West Indies batter had laid the foundation for a remarkable chase.
Hope, meanwhile, continued to dominate and found an able partner in Shepherd. The duo took 24 runs off Kuldeep’s 17th over before Shepherd helped collect another 17 runs against Arshdeep Singh in the following over, leaving West Indies needing just 10 runs from the final two overs.
Hope finished the contest in emphatic fashion, striking two sixes off Axar Patel to complete his second T20I century and secure the victory. His unbeaten 102 included six fours and nine sixes.
Mayank was India’s most successful bowler, finishing with figures of 3/36 in three overs. Kuldeep claimed one wicket but conceded 53 runs, while Axar gave away 63 runs in 3.3 overs.
Earlier, India piled up 249/5 after Hope elected to bowl. Sanju Samson led the charge with a blistering 82 off 41 balls, while Ishan Kishan contributed 43 from 22 deliveries.
India lost Abhishek Sharma for 20 in the fourth over, but Samson counterattacked with a rapid half-century off just 21 balls. He and Kishan added 97 runs from 43 deliveries for the second wicket, taking India past the 100-run mark in the ninth over.
West Indies regained some control through Roston Chase, who removed Kishan and Shivam Dube, before Shamar Springer dismissed Samson. Chase finished with impressive figures of 3/24 in four overs.
Despite the wickets, Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma maintained India’s scoring momentum. The pair struck 21 runs off Springer’s 18th over, while Varma smashed three consecutive sixes in the final over to help India approach the 250-run mark.
Iyer was dismissed during the final over, but Naman Dhir struck a boundary off the last delivery as India closed their innings at 249/5. Springer claimed two wickets but conceded 64 runs in his four overs.
West Indies’ emphatic chase ensured the series moved to 1-1, setting up an intriguing contest in the remaining three matches.
