West Indies captain Shai Hope blazed an unbeaten 102 off 50 balls as the visitors posted 247/3 in 20 overs against India in the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, 14 October, setting a mammoth target of 248 and piling enormous pressure on the hosts.

Hope's Century and Historic Milestones

Shai Hope was the centrepiece of another dominant West Indies batting display, raising his fifty off just 28 balls before sealing his century with back-to-back sixes off the final two deliveries of the innings. It was his third T20I century of the tour, cementing his status as the standout batter in the series. With the six that completed his hundred, Hope also crossed the 2,000-run mark in T20 Internationals, becoming only the fourth West Indies batter to achieve the milestone. He joined Rovman Powell (2,400), Nicholas Pooran (2,275), and Brandon King (2,028) in that elite club.

Hope now equals Chris Gayle at the top of West Indies' all-time list for T20I fifties and scores of 50 or more, both with 16 such scores.

West Indies' Second-Highest T20I Total Against India

The 247/3 in Hyderabad is the second-highest total West Indies have ever posted against India in T20 Internationals. Their all-time highest against India remains the 252/4 they compiled in Ranchi earlier in this very tour, while their previous benchmark before this series was 245/6 at Lauderhill in 2016. This is also the third successive 200-plus total West Indies have reached after being asked to bat first in the series.

Explosive Start and Key Partnerships

West Indies blazed out of the blocks, racing to 79/1 in the powerplay — their highest six-over score against India in T20Is. Jewel Andrew contributed a brisk 21 off 16 balls, and together with Hope built a 56-run third-wicket stand that had West Indies at 118/2 at the halfway mark. Shimron Hetmyer then produced an astonishing cameo of 33 off just 12 balls at a strike rate of 275, the third-highest strike rate recorded against India in a T20I innings of 10 balls or more, behind Shamar Springer's 318.18 (35 off 11 balls, Indore, this series) and Marco Jansen's 317.64 (54 off 17 balls, South Africa, Centurion 2024). Five consecutive fours from Hetmyer brought up the team hundred in just 7.4 overs, equalling West Indies' fastest team hundred against India in T20Is — matching their own mark set at Lauderhill in 2016.

India's Axar Patel provided a brief moment of relief, dismissing both Jewel Andrew and Shimron Hetmyer in the closing two overs of the first half, conceding just 9 runs across those overs. However, Hope and Sherfane Rutherford (49 not out off 26 balls) took over, putting on an unbeaten 91-run fourth-wicket stand — the second-highest fourth-wicket partnership for West Indies in T20 Internationals. That record also belongs to this pair, having added 120 runs in Ranchi in the previous T20I. Notably, Dwayne Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer's 103-run stand against Australia in Gros Islet in 2021 had previously ranked second before the Hyderabad effort.

India's Bowling Under Pressure

India's bowlers were put to the sword almost across the board. According to the scorecard, all bowlers except Prince Yadav (1/36) conceded more than 10 runs per over, with the hosts also gifting 13 extra runs in the first six overs alone — a profligacy that gave West Indies additional impetus in the powerplay.

What's Next

India face a stiff chase of 248 to keep the series alive. With West Indies having now posted 252 and 247 in successive T20Is, the Indian batting unit will need a record-breaking response at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium to prevent the visitors from claiming the series.

Brief Scores: West Indies 247/3 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 102 not out, Sherfane Rutherford 49 not out; Prince Yadav 1/36) vs India.