Hope’s Masterclass and Tilak’s Costly Drop

India won the toss and elected to bowl first, hoping to exploit any early assistance for the pacers. West Indies openers Shai Hope and Jewel Andrew had other ideas, racing to 52 in the powerplay. Andrew’s 21 off 16 provided the early impetus, but it was Hope who took centre stage.Source: OrissaPOST

Hope reached his half-century off just 28 balls, his second fifty of the series, and then accelerated further. Shimron Hetmyer’s explosive 33 off 12 balls helped West Indies reach 97 in the eighth over before he fell to Prince Yadav. Rovman Powell’s 24 off 17 kept the momentum going, and then Sherfane Rutherford joined Hope for the final assault.Source: OrissaPOST

The defining moment came on the final ball of the innings. Mayank Yadav bowled a short delivery, Hope pulled it towards deep midwicket where Tilak Varma was stationed. The catch was simple, but Varma misjudged it in the floodlights, and the ball crossed the boundary for a six. Hope, who was on 96, reached his century off the final delivery. It was a moment that shifted the momentum decisively.Source: Free Press Journal

Samson’s Blitz and Keemo Paul’s Five-Fer

Chasing 248, India got off to a flying start. Sanju Samson, under pressure after a quiet series, produced a blistering 20-ball fifty, the fastest by an Indian in the series. He smashed six sixes and three fours, taking the attack to the West Indies bowlers. At 79/1 after six overs, India were well ahead of the required rate.Source: ABP Live

Then Keemo Paul happened. The all-rounder, brought into the attack in the fourth over, dismissed Samson with a clever slower ball that the wicketkeeper-batter holed out to deep midwicket. In his next over, he removed Abhishek Sharma and Naman Dhir in quick succession. India slumped from 115/3 to 145/5.Source: Outlook India

Tilak Varma (43 off 25) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (41 off 20) kept India in the hunt with a 50-run partnership, but Paul returned in the death overs to dismiss both. His figures of 5/41 were the best by a West Indies bowler in T20Is against India. Gudakesh Motie’s 2/35 provided excellent support as India were restricted to 223/9, falling 24 runs short.Source: News18

Shai Hope produced another masterclass, finishing unbeaten on 102 off 50 balls with nine sixes and four fours. He became the first West Indies batter to score three T20I centuries, and remarkably, all three have been unbeaten scores of exactly 102. His fourth century of the tour (two in ODIs, two in T20Is) has been the cornerstone of West Indies’ resurgence.Source: Times of India

Keemo Paul produced the best bowling performance of his T20I career, taking 5/41 to derail India’s chase. He dismissed Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Naman Dhir, Shivam Dube, and Nitish Kumar Reddy — the cream of India’s batting line-up. His ability to mix his pace and use the slower ball effectively on a good batting surface was the difference between the two sides.Source: Outlook India

Samson silenced his critics with a blistering 56 off 23 balls, his 20-ball fifty being the fastest by an Indian against West Indies in T20Is. He smashed six sixes and three fours, giving India a dream start. However, his dismissal to Keemo Paul triggered a collapse that India could not recover from.Source: ABP Live

Rutherford’s unbeaten 49 off 26 balls provided the perfect finish to the West Indies innings. He was dropped on 42 by Mayank Yadav, and made India pay with four fours and three sixes. His 91-run partnership with Hope off 43 balls took the game away from India in the final overs.Source: The Tribune