India piled up 249 in Ranchi on Friday night and still lost. West Indies captain Shai Hope smashed an unbeaten 102 off 45 balls and Sherfane Rutherford hit 84 off 37 as the visitors chased down 250 with nine balls to spare at the JSCA International Stadium, winning the second T20I by six wickets. The result levels the five-match series 1-1 and ends India's run of ten straight T20I wins.
India's Big Total: Samson Leads the Charge
After the Lucknow opener, where Shreyas Iyer's maiden T20I hundred set up an eight-wicket win, India's batters again looked in a hurry. Sanju Samson was the standout, scoring 82 off 41 balls with nine fours and four sixes. Ishan Kishan added a brisk 43 off 22, and the pair put on more than a hundred for the second wicket after Abhishek Sharma fell for 20.
Captain Shreyas Iyer (40 off 18) and vice-captain Tilak Varma (44* off 18) then added 83 for the fifth wicket. Tilak finished the innings in style, hitting three consecutive sixes off Shamar Springer in a 23-run final over. India's 249/5 is their highest T20I total against West Indies. Roston Chase was the only bowler to stand out for the visitors, returning 3/24 from his four overs.
Early Wickets, Then a Hope-Rutherford Onslaught
The chase started perfectly for India. Express pacer Mayank Yadav removed Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer in the very first over, leaving West Indies at 5/2. Rovman Powell hit 24 off 13 before he too fell in the sixth over, with the score on 58/3.
What followed was carnage. Hope and Rutherford added 120 runs in just 54 balls for the fourth wicket, targeting India's spinners in particular. Rutherford struck seven fours and seven sixes before Kuldeep Yadav had him caught behind by Samson. Romario Shepherd then walked in and hammered 34 not out off 13 balls, adding an unbroken 74 off 26 with his captain. Hope brought up his second T20I century with a six off Axar Patel and finished with six fours and nine sixes, striking at over 226.
Mayank Yadav (3/36) was India's best bowler, but the rest were taken apart. Axar Patel conceded 63 in 3.3 overs, while Kuldeep Yadav went for 53 in his four.
| Match Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Match | 2nd T20I, India vs West Indies |
| Date and venue | October 9, 2026, JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi |
| India | 249/5 in 20 overs (Samson 82, Tilak 44*, Kishan 43) |
| West Indies | 252/4 in 18.3 overs (Hope 102*, Rutherford 84, Shepherd 34*) |
| Best bowling | Roston Chase 3/24; Mayank Yadav 3/36 |
| Result | West Indies won by 6 wickets (9 balls left) |
| Series | Level 1-1 (five-match series) |
| Next match | 3rd T20I, October 11, Holkar Stadium, Indore |
The Records That Fell
This was a night for the record books. The 252/4 is West Indies' highest successful run chase in T20 internationals and is being reported as the second-highest successful chase in men's T20Is, behind only South Africa's 259 against West Indies at Centurion in 2023. The match produced 501 runs in total, with 33 sixes across the two innings. West Indies scored 204 of their 252 runs in boundaries, a sign of how short of options India's bowlers were on a batting-friendly Ranchi surface.
What It Means for India
For a young Indian side under Shreyas Iyer, the defeat is a reality check rather than a crisis. The batting has looked dominant in both games, but the death and middle-over bowling has leaked runs. With Arshdeep Singh going wicketless and the spinners struggling to control a set pair of hitters, the team management may consider changes for Indore, a venue with a reputation for big scores. The squad has options such as Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar and Prince Yadav who have yet to feature prominently.
For West Indies, the win is a huge confidence boost. Hope has led from the front, and the depth of their power-hitting, with Rutherford and Shepherd joining in, showed that even a total close to 250 is not safe against them.
What Happens Next
The teams now head to Indore for the third T20I on Sunday, October 11 (7 pm IST). The series then moves to Hyderabad on October 14 and Bengaluru on October 17. With the scores level and two high-scoring venues ahead, the remaining three games promise plenty more runs. Indian fans will watch closely to see whether the bowling unit can respond after one of its most expensive nights in recent memory.
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