West Indies refused to go quietly. On Wednesday night at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, captain Shai Hope smashed an unbeaten 102 and fast bowler Keemo Paul picked up five wickets as the visitors beat India by 24 runs in the fourth T20I. The result levels the five-match series 2-2 and sets up a winner-takes-all finale in Bengaluru on Saturday, October 17.
India had walked in with a 2-1 lead after their 14-run win in Indore and a chance to seal the series in front of a full house. Instead, they spent 20 overs chasing leather and another 20 chasing a target that always looked a few boundaries too far.
Toss and the West Indies onslaught
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl, a familiar call on a ground where dew tends to help the chasing side. Hope made sure it didn't matter. The West Indies skipper batted through the innings for 102 not out off just 50 balls, and the way he got there told the story of the night: only four fours, but nine sixes. Whenever India's bowlers missed their length, the ball disappeared into the stands.
He had plenty of support. Shimron Hetmyer blitzed 33 off only 12 balls, Rovman Powell added 24 off 17 before Arshdeep Singh removed him, and Jewel Andrew made 21 before Axar Patel trapped him leg before. At the death, Sherfane Rutherford joined the party with an unbeaten 49 off 26 balls, and the pair hauled West Indies to a towering 247 for 3.
It was an expensive evening for India's pace attack. Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Yadav each conceded 52 runs in their four overs. Prince Yadav was the most economical of the wicket-takers with 1 for 36.
India's chase: Samson fires, Paul strikes back
Needing 248, India needed a fast start and Sanju Samson provided one. The wicketkeeper-batter raced to 56, hitting six fours and four sixes, and for a while the Hyderabad crowd believed. Abhishek Sharma chipped in with 24, but Iyer (16 off 11) and Ishan Kishan (6) could not stay long enough to build on the platform.
Tilak Varma, playing at his home ground, made a brisk 43 off 25 balls and Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy clubbed 41 off 20 with four sixes. Every time the pair threatened to drag the equation back, Keemo Paul returned with another wicket. The fast bowler finished with 5 for 41, the standout figures of the match. Axar Patel went for 3, while Prince Yadav and Naman Dhir both fell first ball. India finished on 223, 24 runs short.
Key facts from the 4th T20I
| Match | India vs West Indies, 4th T20I |
| Venue | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad |
| Date | Wednesday, October 14, 2026 |
| Toss | India won, chose to bowl |
| West Indies | 247/3 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 102*, Sherfane Rutherford 49*) |
| India | 223 (Sanju Samson 56, Tilak Varma 43, Nitish Kumar Reddy 41) |
| Best bowling | Keemo Paul 5/41 |
| Result | West Indies won by 24 runs |
| Series | Level at 2-2 |
| 5th T20I | Saturday, October 17, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
What went wrong for India
The simple answer is the ball. A target of 248 is gettable on a flat Hyderabad deck, but only if the batting side keeps wickets in hand for the last five overs. India kept losing batters just as partnerships were turning dangerous, and Paul's ability to take pace off the ball made the big hits harder to find.
Death bowling under the scanner
With the bat, there is little to complain about: 223 is a big score in any T20I. The bigger worry is at the other end. Conceding nearly 250 at home, with two frontline quicks going past 50 each, will force the team management to rethink the plan for the final overs. Hope and Rutherford scored freely against both pace and spin, and India never found a dot-ball over when they needed one.
Hope keeps hurting India
For West Indies, this was the kind of performance that changes a tour. Hope has repeatedly been the batter India could not dislodge on this trip, and his side backed up the big total with disciplined bowling. The visitors now head to Bengaluru with momentum, while India must regroup quickly.
What it means for fans in India
For fans, the good news is a genuine decider. A dead rubber in Bengaluru would have been forgettable; now the Chinnaswamy, with its short boundaries and quick outfield, gets a final that could easily produce another 200-plus contest. Expect the selection debate to centre on India's bowling combination, particularly whether the team sticks with the same pace trio after Wednesday's punishment.
What happens next
The fifth and final T20I is on Saturday, October 17, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. India need a win to take the series 3-2; West Indies need one more to complete a turnaround. After this series, India's attention shifts to an ODI series against New Zealand, so a series win here would be a welcome confidence boost before the 50-over cricket begins.
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