Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 steers West Indies to record chase and evens series in Ranchi

Shai Hope struck an unbeaten 102 off 45 balls to guide West Indies to a six-wicket victory over India in Ranchi in the second T20I on Friday, completing a record chase of 250 and levelling the five-match series 1-1.

Hope’s century arrived inside a high-pressure run chase that the visitors fashioned around calculated aggression and sustained partnerships, elements the West Indies captain cited as central to the innings. The 250-run target was the highest successful T20I chase against India and the second-highest overall in the format, placing added emphasis on the composure required to win.

West Indies began their reply with an early setback when Mayank Yadav struck twice in successive deliveries, dismissing Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer. With such a large total to overhaul, the visitors needed both measured batting and powerful overs to remain in contention.

The match shifted when Hope combined with Sherfane Rutherford to add 120 runs off 54 balls, a stand that changed the momentum of the chase. Rutherford scored 84 off 37 deliveries, including seven fours and seven sixes, enabling Hope to manage the scoring rate while his partner took on the attacking role.

Hope described the importance of partnerships after the game, saying: "Thing about cricket, I really believe that we need to bat a lot better in partnerships. It's something that we tend to lack every now and again." He also reflected on the mid-innings momentum, saying: "When we got that partnership there with myself and Rovman, just got some more impetus into the innings," and added, "Then obviously Sherfane came and did what he did, playing really well with the bat now and just gave us that spark that we needed to get over the line today."

Hope had reached his half-century in 24 balls but kept a measured approach as Rutherford accelerated, explaining: "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," and "I thought that we would go really nicely, so just about calculating that chase as best as we could in the back end." Romario Shepherd provided the finishing flourish with an unbeaten 34 off 13 balls, West Indies plundering 41 runs across the 17th and 18th overs to wrap up victory in 18.3 overs.

The century extended Hope's strong run in India after consecutive centuries in the preceding ODI series and a half-century in the first T20I; he has now scored a century in Test, ODI and T20I cricket in India. Despite the form, Hope downplayed any sense of invulnerability, saying: "Maybe I could say it's a good streak I'm having right now, but I just think the way I'm preparing, the way I'm trying to stay mentally fresh and ready, is giving me the best chance of performing. I just hope it continues along." He added, "No, definitely not. I always try to keep myself as neutral as I can."

The win completed West Indies' successful chase of 250 and levelled the five-match T20I series at 1-1 after two games.