West Indies Beat India by 24 Runs as Hope Century and Paul Five-For Level Series 2-2

HYDERABAD, India. West Indies beat India by 24 runs in the fourth Twenty20 international on Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026, to level the five match series at 2-2. Captain Shai Hope made an unbeaten 102 off 50 balls, and Keemo Paul took five wickets for 41 as India fell short of a chase of 248 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

India won the toss and chose to bowl. West Indies started at a pace India never matched. The visitors raced to 79 for 1 in the powerplay, their highest powerplay score against India in this format, and reached 100 in only 7.4 overs, equalling their fastest team hundred against India in Twenty20 internationals.

Hope and Rutherford build the total

Jewel Andrew gave the innings its early push with 21 off 16 balls before Axar Patel trapped him leg before wicket. Shimron Hetmyer then struck 33 off only 12 balls in a stand of 58 with Hope, before Prince Yadav dismissed him caught and bowled. Rovman Powell added 24, and Arshdeep Singh removed him, but the innings belonged to the last pair.

Hope and Sherfane Rutherford added an unbeaten 91 runs for the fourth wicket in 43 balls, the second highest stand for that wicket for West Indies in Twenty20 internationals. The pair had set the record with a 120 run stand in the previous match in Ranchi. Rutherford finished unbeaten on 49 off 26 balls. Hope reached his century with a six off the final delivery, ending on 102 not out with four fours and nine sixes. It was his second century of the series and his third in Twenty20 internationals. West Indies closed on 247 for 3.

Samson starts fast, Paul ends it

India began the chase at speed. Sanju Samson raced to a half century off 20 balls before Paul dismissed him for 56. Abhishek Sharma made 29 before Gudakesh Motie removed him, and Shreyas Iyer added 16 off 11 balls.

Nitish Kumar Reddy and Tilak Varma kept the chase alive with 70 runs from 32 balls. Varma fell for 43, and Paul then took three wickets in the 19th over to break the innings. India were bowled out for 223 in 19.4 overs. Paul finished with five for 41.

A decider in Bengaluru

The win keeps the series alive going into the fifth and deciding match in Bengaluru. It also continues a tour on which West Indies have now beaten India in a Twenty20 match on Indian soil for the first time since 2019, a drought that had stood before this tour began.

For India, the numbers at the top were not the problem. The chase failed in the middle and at the death, against a total that left no room for a slow over. For West Indies, the result rests on two performances: a captain's century built at a strike rate above 200, and a five wicket haul from the bowler who removed the fastest starter and then closed the match.