Shai Hope smashed an unbeaten century as West Indies pulled off a remarkable six-wicket victory over India in the second T20I in Ranchi on Friday, completing their highest successful chase in the format.
The visitors chased down India’s 249 for five with nine balls remaining to level the five-match series at 1-1. Hope led the charge with an unbeaten 102 off just 45 balls, while Sherfane Rutherford struck 84 off 37 deliveries to help West Indies recover from a difficult start.
The victory also marked the second-highest successful chase in men’s T20I history. South Africa hold the record after chasing 259 against West Indies in 2023. West Indies faced early trouble when Indian pacer Mayank Yadav removed Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer off successive deliveries in the opening over.
Mayank later dismissed Rovman Powell for 24, leaving the visitors under pressure in their pursuit of a huge target. However, Hope and Rutherford changed the course of the match with an attacking 120-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Rutherford received a major lifeline on 38 when Mayank dropped a simple catch at short fine leg. The left-handed batter made India pay with a powerful display before Kuldeep Yadav ended his innings.
Hope continued to attack and kept the required run rate under control. He then joined Romario Shepherd to complete the chase without further trouble. Speaking after the match, Hope said his side never stopped believing they could reach the target.
“But when you chase here in India, you always give yourself a chance. You always think you’re in the game, regardless of what score is on the board,” Hope said.
“But five for two was always going to be challenging.”
The West Indies captain also praised Rutherford for changing the momentum of the chase.
“When we got that partnership there, we just got some more impetus in the innings,” he said.
“Then obviously Sherfane came and did what he did, played really well with the bat, and just gave us that spark that we needed to get over the line today.”
Earlier, Sanju Samson led India’s batting effort with 82 off 41 balls. Samson and Abhishek Sharma gave the hosts a quick start, adding 42 runs in less than four overs for the opening wicket.
Roston Chase broke the partnership by removing Sharma. He also dismissed Ishan Kishan for 43 and Shivam Dube.
Shamar Springer claimed the important wicket of Samson, but India continued to score freely. Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma added 83 runs from just 32 balls in the closing overs to push India towards 250.
Iyer scored 40 before falling off the second-last delivery of the innings as India finished at 249 for five.
The two teams will meet again in the third T20I in Indore on Sunday, with the series now evenly balanced.
