Shai Hope sent the winning six over wide long-on and roared in relief and joy as Romario Shepherd walked across to hug him. West Indies' dugout could barely contain itself, with Shamar Springer, Roston Chase and Akeal Hosein jumping and throwing fist pumps of their own.
Their captain had completed a 45-ball century, and a chase of 250 had been obliterated with nine balls to spare. It was West Indies' highest successful chase in T20Is.
Ranchi had come ready for a spectacle from India and they got one for 21 overs. The packed stands and the fans on the grass banks had enjoyed 249 runs worth of entertainment on a pleasant, cool evening. And then Mayank Yadav had taken out Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer in the first over with his searing pace. But Hope, in Sherfane Rutherford's company, then hijacked the party.
The intensity of Hope's batting gave way to easy humour after the game. Asked how confidently he could clear the longer boundaries, he passed the credit onto his bat-maker. "I just must say those SS bats that I have are pretty good," he said.
Those bats have served him well on this tour, with this unbeaten 102 coming on the back of scores of 104 and a match-winning 162 not out in the second and third ODIs followed by 52 in the first T20I in Lucknow. He now has centuries in all three formats in India, prompting the interviewer to invite him to make India his permanent home. Hope had a quip of his own: "You got a place for me to stay?"
For long it was widely believed Hope's white-ball batting through this decade had gone under the radar. No longer. This tour of India has showcased the full range not just of his shots but his temperament too.
His unbeaten 162 in New Chandigarh demanded endurance - it came after 50 overs of wicketkeeping and continued through a groin problem. His knock on Friday, with six fours and nine sixes, was batting of sweet brutality in conditions where runs were there to be mined.
With West Indies 5 for 2, Cricinfo's Forecaster had India as 95% favourites, but Hope hit back with consecutive boundaries off Arshdeep Singh in the second over, crushing a length ball through cover point before swinging a fuller inswinger over mid-on. Mayank's pace and bounce hurried him, but he kept looking for scoring opportunities, making room to launch him over mid-on after being beaten twice.
Against Axar Patel, Hope created angles to loft inside-out over cover or go back to send the ball straight down the ground. His power was accompanied by an instance of exquisite touch - a late opening of the face against Shivam Dube guided the ball between point and short third for four with barely a swing of the bat. He reached fifty from 24 deliveries.
Hope handled the early acceleration himself, and once Rutherford got going from No. 5, he recognised that staying in mattered more than matching his partner's aggression.
Rutherford had arrived at 58 for 3, after Mayank had uprooted Rovman Powell's off stump with a delivery clocked at 149.5kph for his third wicket of the night, and counterattacked by crunching 84 off 37 with seven fours and seven sixes. He survived a dropped catch on 39 and made full use of the chance by hitting Axar for two sixes and two fours in a 23-run 12th over.
The partnership of 120 between Hope and Rutherford was West Indies' highest for the fourth wicket in T20Is, and Hope only contributed 33 to that stand. He played only three balls from overs 10 to 12.
"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," Hope said of that period. After the defeat in Lucknow three nights earlier, Hope had wanted West Indies to bat more intelligently in partnerships. Rutherford later said that Hope's company allowed him to attack without feeling responsible for finishing the chase himself.
"Once Shai is there also, it's even better, because I can be as free as I can, knowing he's going to be there to the end," Rutherford said. "He is just a phenomenal player. Even I look at him and I'm like, 'How does he do it so easily?'"
When Rutherford edged Kuldeep Yadav behind, Hope kept going, pulling into gaps and punching through cover. The target had come down to 51 off four overs.
In New Chandigarh, he had recalled MS Dhoni's advice that a batter has more time than he thinks, and should break the chase down rather than become consumed by the result. In Ranchi, batting in the 17th over at the MS Dhoni End, He moved back to Kuldeep's first ball and flat-batted it straight over his head, and then got underneath a wrong'un to clear long-off.
"The boundaries were a little bit bigger on the bigger side, but once the ball's in my zone, I look at the best option to get the boundary," Hope said. "It just came off well today. You've got to get some luck going your way, and today was one of those days."
That Kuldeep over brought West Indies 24 runs, Arshdeep's next went for 17, and Shepherd had smacked 34 from 13 balls in dewy conditions by the time the 19th over began.
Hope was back on strike, and the game was already in the bag with only ten needed in 12 balls. Batting on 90, Hope sent two of the next three balls, from Axar, beyond the boundaries at midwicket and wide long-on, sealing the win and his milestone.
Asked afterwards whether this run of form made him feel invincible, Hope said: "No, definitely not. I never try to get too high. I always try to keep myself as neutral as I can."
His team-mates were happy to do the celebrating for him.