Hope 102 Not Out Seals Record T20I Chase As West Indies Level India Series

Shai Hope made 102 not out from 45 balls to complete a record T20I chase in Ranchi on Friday night. West Indies beat India by six wickets with nine balls to spare. India had posted 249 for 5. West Indies answered with 252 for 4 in 18.3 overs. The five-match series is level at 1-1.

The target was 250. No West Indies side had chased that many in a T20I before. Hope batted through the innings at the JSCA International Stadium Complex. Sherfane Rutherford made 84 from 37 alongside him. Their stand decided it.

Hope and Rutherford take over

Mayank Yadav struck three times early. He removed Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell to finish with 3 for 36 from three overs. Powell had made 24 from 13. West Indies were three down and a long way short. Mayank was the only India bowler to take more than one wicket all night.

Rutherford changed that. He hit seven fours and seven sixes. He and Hope put the chase back inside reach. Kuldeep Yadav eventually had Rutherford caught by Sanju Samson, with the target close. Romario Shepherd then finished unbeaten on 34 from 13.

Hope reached his hundred with a six off Axar Patel. Axar conceded 63 from three and a half overs. Arshdeep Singh went for 45 from four. Kuldeep finished with 1 for 53. Not one India bowler went at under eleven an over.

Samson's 82 sets up 249

Sanju Samson made 82 from 41 after West Indies chose to field. Ishan Kishan added 43 from 22. Shreyas Iyer, captaining, made 40 from 18. Tilak Varma finished 44 not out from 18, and Abhishek Sharma had opened with 20 from 12. Five India batters passed 20. Only one of the top six failed.

Roston Chase was the one bowler who held the rate down. He took 3 for 24 from four overs. He bowled Kishan and Shivam Dube and had Abhishek caught. Shamar Springer took 2 for 64. Akeal Hosein and Shepherd finished wicketless.

• India 249 for 5 in 20 overs: Samson 82 (41), Tilak Varma 44 not out (18), Kishan 43 (22), Iyer 40 (18)
• West Indies 252 for 4 in 18.3 overs: Hope 102 not out (45), Rutherford 84 (37), Shepherd 34 not out (13)
• West Indies bowling: Chase 3 for 24, Springer 2 for 64
• India bowling: Mayank Yadav 3 for 36, Kuldeep Yadav 1 for 53, Axar Patel 0 for 63

The chase in context

South Africa's 259 against West Indies in 2023 remains the only larger successful pursuit in men's T20I cricket. Friday's effort sits second on that list. It is also the highest West Indies have ever chased down in the format.

The arithmetic was unforgiving from the first ball. West Indies needed 12.5 an over across the full 20. They scored at better than 13.5 and still had nine deliveries spare. Hope and Rutherford faced 82 balls between them for 186 runs.

Hope's second record chase of the tour

Hope did something similar six days earlier. He made 162 not out in the third ODI on 3 October, when West Indies overhauled 352 to beat India. That was a West Indies record as well. Two formats, one tour, two record pursuits, the same batter unbeaten at the end of both.

Hope captains the side and keeps wicket as well. In Ranchi he faced 45 balls and was at the crease for all 18.3 overs.

Series level with three to play

India had taken the opener in Lucknow by eight wickets, with Shreyas Iyer making a maiden T20I century. Ranchi squares it. The third T20I is at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday 11 October, with two more to follow after that.

Both of West Indies' wins on this tour have come batting second. They took the third ODI by five wickets after a record chase of 352. In Ranchi they chased 250. Hope was unbeaten on both occasions.

India's selection questions now sit with the bowling. Mayank Yadav was the only seamer to take a wicket. Axar and Kuldeep, the two frontline spinners, went for 116 between them in seven and a half overs. Indore comes next, in two days.