Hyderabad, Oct 15 (IANS) West Indies captain Shai Hope backed his bowling decisions after his side defeated India by 24 runs in the fourth T20I, saying the conditions were more even for both teams and the visitors had done well to give themselves a chance to win the series in Bengaluru.
Hope led from the front with an unbeaten 102 off 50 balls before Keemo Paul claimed a five-wicket haul to help West Indies defend their massive total of 247/3 and level the five-match series 2-2 on Wednesday.
Reflecting on the decision to give Gudakesh Motie only two overs despite the spinner taking two wickets in successive deliveries, Hope said managing bowling spells in Indian conditions was not always straightforward.
“Well, just, here in India, it’s always tough to give bowlers three in a row, especially on conditions maybe say, yes, give him another one. But sometimes you just have to make a decision and back it. Just one of those things that happened today,” Hope said after being named Player of the Match.
Hope also felt the conditions were more balanced than in previous games, particularly with the dew factor posing a challenge for the team bowling second. He credited India for their performance but was pleased that West Indies had managed to keep the series alive.
“Yeah, for sure. Conditions were a little bit more similar for both sides. I just felt as though (with) the dew around, it’s always going to be a part of the game when they chase it. Again, a really good cricket game. They played good cricket in all phases as well. So you got to give them credit. But we did well to give ourselves a chance to win the series in Bangalore,” he said.
The West Indies skipper, who has been among the runs throughout the tour, joked about the challenge of taking home another Player of the Match award before explaining his approach to building the innings.
“Well, to be honest, those were a bit heavy; we got to look at luggage weight. So I think we’re gonna have some problems when I go back home with those Player of the Match awards,” Hope said with a smile.
On his unbeaten century, he said the priority was to provide a strong platform before allowing the middle order to accelerate and finish the innings strongly.
“Yeah, just trying to give the team the best chance, man. So as long as we lay that foundation at the start, we got a 50-plus opening partnership. So it was good for us to start innings and then obviously we got that foundation, you can express yourself a bit more in the middle period and then try to give the team the best finish as could be possible,” he said.
Hope added that West Indies believed their total was competitive, particularly after noticing that the surface was offering variable bounce and becoming harder to score on as the innings progressed.
“I honestly felt it was a decent score because the surface was actually holding a bit more than we thought initially. We felt as though the pitch would probably come on a bit better. But I found that with the new ball, some balls were kicking up a lot more and then some were staying down as well. So it’s a bit too pace to start and then obviously with the spinners and the quicks in the back end, it was a little bit more difficult to hit through the line. So I felt as though 240 plus was a decent score,” he said.
Hope’s century and Sherfane Rutherford’s unbeaten 49 off 26 balls lifted West Indies to 247/3, their second-highest T20I total against India. Paul then produced figures of 5/41, while Motie’s two wickets in successive deliveries further dented India’s chase as the hosts finished on 223.
–IANS
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