The West Indies levelled the five-match T20I series at 2-2 with a 24-run win over India in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad, setting up a thrilling series decider in Bengaluru. Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhishek Nayar and Sunil Gavaskar shared their views on Shai Hope’s batting form, Keemo Paul’s match-winning spell, and the areas India need to improve ahead of the series decider.
Cheteshwar Pujara heaped praise on Shai Hope’s performance with the bat:
“Shai Hope has been a problem for India in this white-ball series against the West Indies and what stands out is that he does not rely on blind slogging. He backs his natural game and picks his gaps. That is why he scores so quickly without taking too many risks. The way he times the ball, plays normal cricketing shots, and knows his areas well is what makes him so effective. He’s also a good player of spin because this pitch was a little challenging for the batters to dominate the spinners. But he had a lot of clarity. When a batter has that kind of control, it becomes very difficult for the bowlers to build pressure. Once he’s set, he’s a hard player to stop. And if you look at his strike rate, it has been phenomenal throughout the series. His four hundreds are now the most by any batter on a tour of India and he has been the standout performer in this T20I series and the numbers prove it.”
On Keemo Paul’s performance with the ball:
“This win was all about Keemo Paul. He struck gold with his very first delivery of the game, getting the big wicket of Sanju Samson, who got caught at deep backward square-leg. Paul then got rid of Ishan Kishan in the same over and then came back to seal it in the 19th over with a three-wicket over. With their backs against the wall and both the last two games being must-wins, West Indies have not only avoided a series defeat for now but also sent the hosts a strong message that they are here to win.”
On the pressure put on the Indian bowlers by the West Indian batters:
“The way the West Indian batters went after us in the powerplay, and even after the powerplay, the Indian bowlers didn’t hit the right lengths. They didn’t show a lot of variations in their bowling. But sometimes you also need to appreciate the kind of batting the West Indies players produced, the kind of shots they played, especially Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford. All three of them were key players in their side’s victory. They were exceptional. They put a lot of pressure on the Indian bowlers, and the margin for error for a bowler was very small. They picked the length very early against Naman Dhir when he came on to bowl. There was pressure on him, and whenever a bowler missed his length, the West Indian batters were ready to punish him. The Indian bowlers will have to bowl better lengths and bring in more variations in Bengaluru, because against batters this good, one loose ball is enough to cost you the game.”
Sunil Gavaskar pointed out the department where India need to improve ahead of the series decider:
“The first thing this Indian side needs to improve is how they chase. On a pitch like this, with the dew coming in, you have to show the kind of dominance with the bat that a back-to-back T20 World Cup winning team should, but that was missing completely in this game. Sanju gave India a great start, but the rest of the batters didn’t capitalise at all. Abhishek Sharma played a poor knock, which is not acceptable by his standards. Ishan Kishan fell right into Keemo Paul’s trap, and Shreyas Iyer has not got going since his hundred. The batting unit needs to show more responsibility. Yes, I know the bowling has been poor, but these bowlers are not experienced. They are new to international cricket, and they will need to get hit for boundaries, otherwise they will not learn. For India to win the decider, they should bat first, put up 240 to 250 and then keep West Indies to a low total. If the batters don’t take responsibility, this Indian side will not succeed.”
Abhishek Nayar heaped high praise on Shai Hope for the way he dominated India’s bowlers:
“The last time I can think of someone dominating India in India was when the Australian team came in the 2000s, Matthew Hayden used to take our bowlers to the cleaners, and Shai Hope is doing something very similar. His batting has been phenomenal, not only for the runs he has got, but also for how he has got them. You can’t call him a power player or a touch player. He has found the perfect balance, where he can use the pace, but when required, he can generate force and hit those big sixes. He has been challenged with pace, with Mayank Yadav bowling upwards of 145, and he has handled it beautifully. He has played the guile of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel very well. He has basically taken the Indian bowling to the cleaners in every format on this tour of India. To get a century at a strike rate of 200 tells you what Shai Hope can do, keeping wickets, captaining the side, and still coming out again and again to win games for his team, that is very rare to see.”
