Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari: West Indies skipper Shai Hope admitted his side’s failure to execute in the middle overs and a cluster of wickets allowed India to wrest control of the first T20I as Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 102 powered the hosts to an eight-wicket win here at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
West Indies were well placed at 82/3 after 10 overs, with Hope and Sherfane Rutherford having put together a 38-run stand after the visitors lost three wickets in the powerplay. But Hope’s dismissal for 52 triggered a collapse as West Indies lost four wickets in a dramatic six-over passage and were eventually bowled out for 171.
Reflecting on the middle overs, Hope said the visitors had allowed India to claw their way back into the contest by losing wickets in clusters.
“I think it was a bit of both. I felt like we allowed them to get back into the game a bit. Because we started okay in the powerplay, but then Rutherford and I built a nice partnership going into the 10th and 11th overs. So we were setting a nice platform, but I got out at a crucial stage as well, and then wickets just continued to fall,” Hope said in the post-match press conference.
“Whenever you can’t build partnerships or wickets continue to fall back to back, you never give yourself the best chance of going deep and getting a big score. So those are the little things that we need to pay attention to for the next game. Make sure we don’t lose wickets in clusters and then give ourselves a better chance to get a big total.”
Hope’s own dismissal came immediately after he had completed his 13th T20I fifty, with the West Indies captain falling for 52 to Naman Dhir, who was making his T20I debut. Dhir went on to finish with 3/31, becoming the third Indian spinner to claim three wickets on T20I debut.
Hope admitted that the debutant had not necessarily been the bowler West Indies expected to target but stressed that batting sides must adapt to whoever performs best on the day.
“To be fair, when you think about him as one of the options that they have, you would see him as the second spinner or the extra spinner. So usually as a batting group you tend to say, 'Okay, maybe target this guy,' but still we have to play the situation of the game,” Hope said.
“If he’s bowling the best on the day, then he’s not the so-called second spinner or third spinner. Just so happened I probably opened the floodgates for him a bit, I think I was the first one to be dismissed. But like I said in the post-match, I thought that we were a little bit chaotic in the back end.”
Hope felt West Indies became too aggressive in their approach after building a platform, instead of recognising that they still had enough batting resources to attack later in the innings.
“Felt as though we were trying to score 270 or 280 at some stages. You know we just had to play the situation of the game a little bit smarter. Maybe give ourselves a bit more time because we know we could always do damage in the back end if we have wickets in hand,” he said.
At the same time, Hope gave credit to Dhir for making the most of his opportunity. “But he still bowled well; you have to give him credit when it is due,” he added.
The West Indies captain also admitted that the visitors were simply not good enough with the bat after being asked to set a target on a surface that became easier to bat on in the second innings.
“I think we maybe didn’t… our execution wasn’t right. We just didn’t execute in the middle overs. We allowed India to get back into the game with some, maybe not the right shot selection in certain stages, but yeah it’s just one of those days,” Hope said.
India’s chase was then blown open by Iyer, who smashed an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls, including a century off 42 deliveries. It was the India skipper’s maiden T20I century and his highest score in the format as India completed the chase in 14.4 overs.
Hope acknowledged the significance of Iyer’s innings but felt West Indies had made the challenge considerably harder for their bowling attack by failing to put enough runs on the board.
“Shreyas, he played a wonderful innings. Again, when you don’t put a big score on the board when you’re batting first in Indian conditions, it’s always going to be tough for you as a bowling group,” he said.
Iyer’s innings was the second-fastest T20I century against the West Indies, behind only Australia’s Tim David’s 37-ball hundred in 2025, while it was the fastest by an Indian against the Caribbean side, bettering KL Rahul’s 46-ball hundred in 2016.
Hope also praised Rutherford, who scored 56 off 31 balls for his seventh T20I fifty.
“Rutherford, he’s been playing really well in this format. He’s been playing some magnificent innings for us giving us opportunities to defend. And it’s great to see him back in the runs. He didn’t get many runs in the ODI series so it’s nice to see him ticking those boxes here in the T20 series,” he said.
Rutherford and Hope had taken West Indies to 82/3 before the visitors lost their way. Hope felt the difference between the two innings was also influenced by the conditions.
“With the ball, like I said before, when you only have 170 to defend and the wetness comes into play, the ball gets a lot wetter, the surface a lot more placid. So it’s always gonna be more difficult from a bowling side of things,” he said.
“I also felt when India bowled their spinners got a lot more spin on the surface. Something that we didn’t really get a chance to extract, maybe because of the conditions.”
Hope said the ball came onto the bat better in the second innings, while India’s bowlers were also able to extract more from their cutters at crucial moments.
“I would say in comparison to the first, to the second innings, yes. I thought the ball actually came on a bit more. Even when we bowled our slower balls and cutters it actually slid onto the pitch a bit more rather than held. Mayank got his cutters to grip a bit more,” he said.
“So maybe those little margins, yes, but we just didn’t bat as well as we could have honestly, you just have to be honest.”
Despite the defeat, Hope insisted that West Indies cannot dwell on the past and must use the experience of players who have previously played in India, including those with IPL exposure.
“It’s certainly not up to scratch. You know when you come to India, playing in their home conditions, you gotta play your best cricket. You know they’re a very tough team to beat, so you gotta make sure you have more rights than wrongs. And something that we didn’t do well today,” he said.
“But the thing is I know there are a lot of guys who played here, whether it’s in the IPL or previous tours, so we just need to use those experiences and find a way to get better, come back for the next game.”
Hope, who has enjoyed success with the bat in India, said his approach is built around adapting quickly to conditions and paying close attention to detail.
“That’s a tough one because we all know the conditions for batting usually tends to be a bit better. But still you have to find a way to adapt. You’re still playing against quality players, you’re still playing against guys who’ve done it many, many times,” he said.
“It’s just about being more ruthless and paying closer attention to detail whenever I’m preparing and assessing what is necessary in each set of conditions or whichever situation the game I’m faced with.”
“So all these little things I try to put together into one basket whenever I’m playing cricket here in India. And sometimes you need a bit of luck as well. Just make sure everything ticks and I’ve just had the opportunity to get success and just trying to ride that wave for as long as possible.”
The Windies captain also acknowledged that the best T20 teams are those that assess conditions quickly and adjust their approach rather than blindly chasing a predetermined total.
“So I’d say the best teams in the world they assess the conditions quickly. So when you have that assessment, then you’d know exactly what would be a good score to defend from a bowling side of things,” Hope said.
“The faster we can have that information being spread to the group I think that gives us a better, clearer understanding of what is required in those situations there.”
He also pointed out that the pitch can behave differently across the two innings, making it important for teams batting first to build in a cushion.
“It’s always challenging because the first half of the game the wicket might play differently than in the second half, so you almost have to give yourself an extra cushion, so you may have to bat out of your skin sometimes to give yourself a good chance,” he said.
He also pointed out that the pitch can behave differently across the two innings, making it important for teams batting first to build in a cushion.
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Article Source: IANS