Skipper Shai Hope led from the front with a 45-ball 102 as the West Indies pulled off a record chase to beat India by six wickets in the second T20 International and level the five-match series 1-1 in Ranchi on Friday.The West Indies looked in trouble when Mayank Yadav struck twice in the opening over of their chase and then dismissed Rovman Powell in the sixth over, leaving the visitors at 58/3. But Hope and Sherfane Rutherford turned the match on its head with a 120-run stand for the fourth wicket. Rutherford smashed 84 off 37 balls, while Hope remained unbeaten on 102 off 45 as the West Indies chased down India’s 250-run target with nine balls to spare.Hope and Rutherford’s 120-run partnership was the West Indies’ highest for the fourth wicket in T20Is, surpassing the previous record of 103 set by Dwayne Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer.Hope sealed the historic chase by hitting Axar Patel for a six, bringing up his century in the process. The total also became the West Indies’ highest successful chase in T20I cricket.At the halfway stage, India’s total of 249/5 had put them in a strong position, but the West Indies made light work of the target despite losing wickets in the powerplay. The visitors hit 20 sixes and 21 fours, scoring 204 runs through boundaries alone.Earlier, Sanju Samson returned to form with an 82-run knock before Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma’s quickfire knocks helped India post 249/5 in the first innings.After four consecutive low scores, Samson struck a 21-ball half-century, his ninth in T20Is, and shared a 97-run stand off 43 balls with Ishan Kishan. Their partnership helped India reach their highest-ever T20I total against the West Indies.The pair took India to 139/1 in 11 overs at a run rate of more than 12. Kishan contributed 43 off 22 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes.West Indies off-spinner Roston Chase, however, broke the partnership after returning to the attack during the middle overs, taking two wickets in successive overs.Kishan and Shivam Dube, who scored seven, were both bowled while attempting shots across the line. India’s decision to promote Dube to No. 4 did not work, as he managed only seven runs off 10 balls before being dismissed.Samson’s innings also came to an end in the 15th over, 18 runs short of a century. His ramp shot over deep backward point went straight to Kamil Pooran.India lost three wickets for 23 runs during the middle overs, but skipper Iyer kept the scoring rate up. Having struck his maiden T20I century in Lucknow, he continued his run with an 18-ball 40, counter-attacking with a series of quick runs.Tilak, meanwhile, remained unbeaten on 44 off 18 balls to help India finish with 249/5.
