High-scoring series reaches tense decider in rainy Bengaluru

(Cricinfo) – It all started as a bit of a lark. West Indies, not even part of the last ODI World Cup and still fighting to get into the next one, arrived in India three weeks or so ago. A time when India were taking more seriously the Asian Games where no other team had sent their strongest squad.

West Indies must forgive us for thinking, two matches in, “now you know why they need to play qualifiers”, “now you know why India can prioritise the Asian Games”. During the third ODI, fresh from the heartbreak of scoring 400 and losing, Shai Hope led a successful chase of 352 with such ease that we went, “Wait a minute, what if they had won the tosses when the series was alive?”

Come the T20Is, both sides were reinforced sans the players India must keep in cotton wool. West Indies levelled the series by chasing down 250 in Ranchi, a reminder of what might have been had India not had Jasprit Bumrah in the World Cup semi-final earlier this year. You would have thought India were still the superior unit when they defended successfully for the first time during this tour, but West Indies did them one better by doing so in Hyderabad.