India and West Indies play the India vs West Indies 4th T20I in Hyderabad on Wednesday evening, and India have the series in their hands. Two wins in three games means a third here ends it with a match to spare. The match starts at 7 PM IST at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Star Sports will telecast it, and JioHotstar will stream it live.
Indore gave India the lead
Sunday’s game at Holkar Stadium swung the series. West Indies won the toss and sent India in to bat. Abhishek Sharma made them pay. His 69 off 30 balls, with six fours and five sixes, took him to fifty in 18 deliveries and made him the fastest to 2,000 T20I runs by balls faced. Ishan Kishan made 37 off 18, and the two put on 108 for the second wicket in 40 balls.
Then West Indies dragged it back. Roston Chase removed Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma was run out for 28, and India were bowled out for 223 in 20 overs. For a while that looked short.
The chase had life in it. Shimron Hetmyer made 43 off 26 and Nicholas Pooran 42 off 27, and their 60-run stand kept West Indies in range. Naman Dhir dismissed both and finished with 2 for 39. Sherfane Rutherford kept swinging with 32 off 20, but Arshdeep Singh took him out in the 18th over along with Keemo Paul. Arshdeep finished with 3 for 44, and had removed Shai Hope for a single early on. West Indies ended on 209 for 7. India beat West Indies by 14 runs in Indore and lead the series 2-1.
That was also the first time on this tour that a team batting first won a white-ball game. The first five all went to the chasing side.
What Hyderabad brings
The series moves to a new ground. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium hosts its first match of this tour. After 501 runs in Ranchi and 432 in Indore, both bowling attacks will walk out under pressure. India’s bowlers have conceded 200 or more twice in three games, and Kris Srikkanth has called the attack pedestrian in recent days.
West Indies will back themselves to chase. They chased down 250 to win by six wickets in Ranchi, and their middle order of Hope, Pooran, Hetmyer and Rutherford has scored in every game. Shamar Springer finished unbeaten on 35 off 11 in Indore and will want another go.
India vs West Indies 4th T20I: the squads
India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav.
West Indies: Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Kamil Pooran, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer.
(Squad lists per the announced tour squads, via the Indian Express schedule story.)
The selection question for India is the same as in Indore. Mayank Yadav opened with a one-run over, Arshdeep delivered at the death, and Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy did their part-time jobs. Whether Shreyas Iyer changes a winning combination is the call.
The recent history between them
India have the better record in this format: 20 wins to West Indies’ 10 from 31 T20Is, with one no-result. India also won the ODI leg of this tour 2-1.
A win on Wednesday seals the series 3-1 for India with Bengaluru still to play. A loss takes it there level at 2-2. For the record, India have now been tested in a low-chase, a high-chase and a defence. Hyderabad is the one game that can end the tour early. For the full build-up to Sunday’s game, read the Indore preview.