‘Got to look at the weight of the luggage’: jokes Shai Hope after winning third man-of-the-match award during this tour of India

West Indies Captain Shai Hope. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) West Indies captain Shai Hope reflected on his excellent form after leading his team to a 24-run win over India in the fourth T20I. His unbeaten century helped West Indies level the five-match series 2-2 and set up a crucial final match in Bengaluru on 17 October. Hope has enjoyed a remarkable tour of India, picking up three Player of the Match awards so far.Hope joked about the difficulty of transporting his growing collection of awards back home, while stressing that his main goal is to help the team win.“To be honest, they (POTM trophies) were a bit heavy; we had to look at the weight of the luggage. So I think we’ll have some problems when I come home with those Player of the Match awards. I’m just trying to give the team the best chance,” he said.“So as long as we laid that foundation early on, we got 50-plus opening partnerships. So it was good for us to start the innings and then obviously we got that foundation. In the middle third, you can express yourself a bit more and then try to give the team the best possible finish.”

Hope explains a strong West Indies unit

West Indies made 247/3 with Hope scoring an unbeaten 102 off 50 balls, including four fours and nine sixes. Shimron Hetmyer contributed 33 off 12 balls while Sherfane Rutherford remained unbeaten on 49 off 26 deliveries.Hope said the pitch was tougher than expected, making a total of more than 240 runs competitive.“Honestly, I felt it was a decent score because the surface; it actually held a bit more than we originally thought. We felt the course was probably going to be a bit better. But I found with the new ball some balls kicked up a lot more and some stayed down as well. So it’s a bit too fast to start with, and then of course with the spinners and quick shots on the back end I felt a bit more difficult. 240 plus was a decent score.” he added.

Hope is enjoying a record in India

Hope has scored 601 runs in 16 T20I innings at an average of 50.08 this year, including two centuries and four half-centuries. In international cricket in 2025, he amassed 1,336 runs in 30 innings, with five centuries and seven fifties.His performances in India have been equally impressive. He scored 278 runs in three ODI innings and 261 runs in four T20I innings. He amassed 539 runs in seven innings in both formats, including four centuries and a half-century.India struggled in the chase despite Sanju Samson’s 56 off 22 balls and 70 runs between Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy. West Indies bowler Keemo Paul took five wickets in 41 runs to help restrict India to 223.With the series tied 2-2, the two teams will clash for the trophy in the T20I final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on October 17.