Wi vs Ind: Hope century sets India a 248 chase in Hyderabad
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- West Indies scored 247/3 in Hyderabad. Shai Hope hit 102 off 50 balls.
- India must chase 248 runs to win the series. A loss sends the series to a final game.
- Sanju Samson gave India a fast start. He raced to a quick fifty.
West Indies set India a target of 248 runs in the fourth T20I. Captain Shai Hope scored 102 runs off 50 balls. India were chasing the total in Hyderabad when this article was written.
What happened
India won the toss and chose to bowl first. Shreyas Iyer leads India. Shai Hope leads West Indies and keeps wicket.
A T20I is a short cricket game. Each team bats for 20 overs. An over is six balls.
The team with more runs wins the game.
West Indies started fast. Jewel Andrew and Shai Hope opened the batting. They scored 20 runs in the first two overs.
Andrew then fell for 21 runs off 16 balls.
Axar Patel got Andrew out leg before wicket. This means the ball hit his leg in front of the stumps. The umpire ruled him out.
Shimron Hetmyer then hit 33 runs off just 12 balls. Prince Yadav caught him off his own bowling. That quick spell kept India in the game for a short time.
Rovman Powell added 24 runs off 17 balls. Arshdeep Singh got him out. Sanju Samson caught the ball behind the stumps.
Hope then built the big stand with Sherfane Rutherford. Hope reached his century off the last ball of the innings. He hit a six to bring up 102 runs off 50 balls.
Rutherford stayed not out on 49 runs off 26 balls. West Indies finished on 247/3 in 20 overs. They crossed 200 runs in the 17th over.
Mayank Yadav had a hard night with the ball. He gave away 52 runs in four overs. He took no wickets.
Axar Patel finished with 1 wicket for 45 runs.
India then started the chase. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened the batting. Samson raced to a fast fifty.
At the latest update, India were 90 for 2 after 7.4 overs. Samson and Ishan Kishan were both out. India still needed 158 runs to win.
The match was still in progress at the time of writing. No final result was known yet. This article reports the score at the latest checked update.
Why it matters
India led the five-match series 2-1 before this game. A win here would seal the series at 3-1. A West Indies win would tie the series at 2-2.
Hyderabad is known for big scores. Cricinfo reported past chases of 208 and 187 at this ground. India once came close to 300 runs here in a T20I.
Only one match in six on this tour went to the team batting first. That win came in Indore, when India defended a total. High scores have been the rule on this tour.
Hope has been the star of the series for West Indies. He scored 102 runs off 45 balls in Ranchi. West Indies chased 249 runs in 18.3 overs in that game.
The Times of India reported 159 runs by Hope before this match. His strike rate was 182. A strike rate shows how fast a batter scores.
Hope hit his second century of the series in Hyderabad, according to Outlook India. That form makes him the key wicket for India.
Rutherford has also been strong. The Times of India reported 172 runs in three matches before this game. He had hit 12 sixes.
He was the top scorer in the series at that point.
India have their own in-form batters. Abhishek Sharma hit 69 runs off 30 balls in Indore. India posted 223 runs and won that game.
Cricinfo reported that Abhishek is the fastest batter to 2000 T20I runs. He reached the mark in 1024 balls. That record shows how fast he scores.
India also have a strong record at this ground. Outlook India reported three wins in three T20Is in Hyderabad. One of those wins came against West Indies in 2019.
Cricket fans can find more short-form action in Pakistan's T20I sweep of Sri Lanka. Test cricket fans can read about Bangladesh's hat-trick Test against Afghanistan. There is also Australia's Test win in Durban against South Africa.
What happens next
If India chase 248, the series ends as a 3-1 win for India. The fifth game would still be played. But it would not change the series winner.
If West Indies win, the series goes to 2-2. The fifth game then becomes a decider. A decider is a final game that picks the series winner.
India will want Samson to keep scoring. His fast start kept the chase alive. Abhishek can also change a game in a few overs.
West Indies will want early wickets. Their bowlers must break the opening stand. If they take quick wickets, the chase gets hard.
Dew could also play a part late in the night. Dew is water that forms on the grass. It makes the ball hard to grip for bowlers.
Fans in India can watch on the Star Sports Network. JioHotstar offers live streaming through its app and website, according to Outlook India.
The fifth T20I will close the series either way. A 3-1 win would show India's depth. A 2-2 tie would set up a winner-takes-all final game.
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