Hope 102*, Rutherford 84 help West Indies pull off their highest T20I chase
India put up 249 for 5 but without Jasprit Bumrah the bowlers couldn't defend it
India put up 249 for 5 but without Jasprit Bumrah the bowlers couldn't defend it
Commentator: Ashish Pant
What an amazing game. If you missed any of the action, Sid Monga's report has you covered. After what has been an enthralling game, we just have a day's rest and we meet again on Sunday in Indore, where another run-fest is guaranteed. Till then, this is me Ashish Pant signing off, on behalf of Himanshu and Raghav. Ciao!
Unsurprisingly, Shai Hope is the player of the match: [Thoughts at 5 for 2?] That it's going to be a tough chase, but once you chase here in India, you always give yourself a challenge. You always think you're in the game, regardless of what score is on the board, but 5 for 2 is always going to be challenging. [On the belief?] We got that partnership there with myself and Rovman. We just got some more impetus into the innings. And then obviously Sherfane came and did what he did. [On partnership with Rutherford] The thing about cricket, I really believe that we need to bat a lot better in partnerships. It's something that we tend to lapse every now and again. But sometimes you've just got to sit back and watch. Watch him play his shots. In that situation there, as long as we kept going at the rate to keep up with the game, then I didn't need to take any unnecessary risks. I thought that we would go really nicely. So just about calculating that chase as best as we could on the back end. [What about Roston Chase today?] Yeah, amazing. On a surface and a field like this, to go out six runs and over is unbelievable. So he really kept us in the game. It was very difficult conditions to bowl on, so the way he bowled and kept us in the game made it a lot easier for us to chase that score. [On hitting sixes] I just want to say those SS bats that I have are pretty good. But yeah, the balls seem to be travelling quite a bit here. Yes, the boundaries are a little bit bigger on the bigger side, but I just got to bat myself. Once the ball is in my zone, look at the best option to get the boundary. It just came off well today. As I said before, you've got to get some luck going your way, and today was one of those days for me.
Shreyas Iyer, the India captain: [What's a safe score] You cannot put a number to it. When the dew factor comes in, it plays a massive role. You cannot give a number. The margin of error on this wicket was very minor. Any minor error was going into the stands. Few missed chances, but that is part of the game. But credit where due, they batted very well. [On Mayank and Samson] Both were phenomenal. This is what we look for in Sanju and Abhishek. Exceptional from them and also Mayank. Those three crucial wickets stabilized things for us.
Presentation time
10.45pm And breathe! Who would have thought at the halfway mark that West Indies would chase a 250-target and do it with this ease. More than 500 runs have been scored in the game and the end result is that West Indies have levelled the series 1-1. The chase began in the worst possible manner for West Indies who lost two wickets in two balls in the opening over. But Hope, like he has all tour, kept going for his shots. He had Rovman Powell for company, as West Indies amassed 72 in the powerplay. Once Powell fell, it was the Hope and Rutherford show as they stitched a 120-run stand in just 54 balls to take the game away from India. Rutherford hit 84 off 37 balls, Hope smoked a 45-ball century. In all West Indies smashed 20 sixes and 21 fours; that is 204 runs in boundaries alone. That is barely believable. This is India's first loss after ten straight wins at home and it needed a special effort from WI to achieve it
Sherfane Rutherford: The mindset was clear. We know there's a lot of runs on the board. It was a good wicket. Yes, we lost early wickets, but I feel what was important for me to do is just continue to play positive with good intent. Intent doesn't mean reckless, but good position and it gives you the best chance of capitalizing on bad balls. So, I think it went well for me tonight. [Best year in format] Honestly, I never realized it was my best year, but I've been working hard. I made a promise to myself that I want to be the best player in T20. So, it's good that my hard work is showing off. There's a lot of things been going on behind the scenes and I'm very pleased that it's showing off on the field. [What do you make of the conditions] It's a good wicket. We know that it's a high-scoring game. We were just trying in the bowling unit to just try and restrict them as low as possible. But I think in the last five overs, they actually got away from us. But as a batting unit, we try to make up for the bowlers. We try to work in partnership. So, if the bowler doesn't have a good night, as a batting unit, we try to take it on our shoulders to try and make it up. And it actually went well for us tonight. [P'ship with Hope] Honestly, it was just about enjoying it. When I went to him, I said, listen, let's just try and bat as much balls as we could. I'm naturally a fast scorer. I naturally love to take the game on, so I didn't want to run away from that. So, it was important for me to just play my game. I know that once Shai is there also, it's even better because I can be as free as I could. And he's going to be there to the end. [On Hope] Honestly, I don't think there's much words to describe him. He is a phenomenal player. Even myself look at him and I'm like, how can you do it so steady so often? I look at him and I think he inspires me a lot to work hard.
Shortest gap between an ODI 150 and a T20I 100:
6 days - Shai Hope, 2026 (162* vs IND, ODI & 102* vs IND, T20I) 7 days - Melie Kerr, 2026 (105 vs SA, T20I & 179* vs SA, ODI) 8 days - Rohit Sharma, 2018 (162 vs WI, ODI & 111* vs WI, T20I) 9 days - Rohit Sharma, 2015 (106 vs SA, T20I & 150 vs SA, ODI) 9 days - Rohit Sharma, 2017 (208* vs SL, ODI & 118 vs SL, T20I)
Souvik : "Quoting G.gambhir - "this wasn't cricket. This was batting". The quality of the matches have been so bad in india because of the IPL and batting friendly pitches. We are going to struggle in pitches outside india, which is gonna make our world cup runs difficult in return. Not great. "
Dr Saurabh M : "1st t20I loss under Iyer's captaincy for India after 10 straight wins"
Dr Saurabh M : "These run fest matches are not very good for future of cricket ...if not every match at least every now and then they should prepare pitches which help bowlers too to make matches more interesting instead of one sided ...anyways congrats team Windies"
Sylace Sriniva: "Indian fan but very happy for WI win, this is what these guys bring to T20 joy!"
Four away
West Indies need 10 runs in 12 balls. Last over of the chase? Here's Axar. Hope on 90
For 21 overs, India were all over West Indies in the second T20I. Then they ran into their nemesis once again
India's head coach reiterated his concern for pitches in white-ball cricket after the run-fest in Ranchi
India put up 249 for 5 but without Jasprit Bumrah the bowlers couldn't defend it
Shai Hope is the only wicketkeeper-captain to hit a T20I century, and he's done it twice now
India are on a ten-match winning streak in T20Is