The newly prepared surface produced another high-scoring encounter, but West Indies' bowlers found ways to interrupt India's chase at crucial stages. Gudakesh Motie kept the scoring under control through the middle overs, while Paul used his slower deliveries and changes of length effectively at the back end.

India received promising contributions from Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy, but the innings lacked the continuity that had defined West Indies' batting effort.

The result marked West Indies' first T20I victory in India while defending a total. They had failed in each of their previous six attempts.

Hope Leads West Indies' Relentless Batting Display

Sent in to bat, West Indies restored Jewel Andrew to the top of the order following his recovery from injury. India, meanwhile, retained the same playing XI.

Andrew immediately signalled the visitors' intentions by launching the second ball from Arshdeep Singh for a clean six. The opening over produced 17 runs and gave West Indies the aggressive beginning they wanted.

Hope quickly found his rhythm and continued the outstanding form that had already delivered three centuries on the tour.

Mayank Yadav attempted to trouble the openers with pace and bounce, but his short-ball approach was occasionally wayward. One bouncer sailed over Samson's head and added to India's early difficulties.

With the outfield making conventional boundary-hitting less reliable, West Indies repeatedly chose to clear the ropes. They raced to 79/1 during the Powerplay-their highest six-over score against India in T20Is.

Hope was particularly severe on anything overpitched. He struck powerfully through the straight 'V' and used his wrists effectively to pick up runs on the leg side.

Axar Patel provided India with a breakthrough after being introduced inside the Powerplay, but Shimron Hetmyer ensured the scoring rate did not decline. He quickly targeted Arshdeep whenever the seamer missed his length and offered deliveries in the slot.

Naman Dhir, who had been among the wickets earlier in the series, struggled against Hope and conceded 19 runs from his only over.

A key feature of the West Indies innings was the intent shown by every new batter. Rather than taking time to settle, each incoming player attempted to maintain the established tempo.

Prince Yadav removed Hetmyer with a cleverly directed bouncer, but Rovman Powell immediately took over the attacking responsibility. His contribution helped West Indies collect 22 runs from an Axar over.

By the time Rutherford arrived, Hope had already surged to 75. The left-hander then attacked Mayank's final spell, helping West Indies take 22 from the over and move beyond 200.

India's fielding added to their problems during the closing stages. Mayank failed to complete a chance offered by Rutherford, while Tilak also put down an opportunity from the final delivery after losing sight of Hope's straight hit.

That missed chance allowed Hope to complete his fourth century of the tour from the last ball of the innings and carried West Indies to 247.

Paul's Variations Halt India After Rapid Start

Samson began India's pursuit in fearless fashion, striking the first delivery from Roston Chase over the bowler's head.

With Abhishek Sharma receiving little of the strike, Samson dominated the early scoring almost single-handedly. Chase's second over disappeared for 25 runs, and India reached 50 without loss by the end of the third.

The conditions, however, differed significantly from the dew-soaked surface seen in Ranchi. The pitch remained dry, allowing the West Indies seamers to grip the ball and use their slower variations more effectively.

Paul struck with his first delivery. A well-directed short ball, supported by intelligent field placement, provided the visitors with their opening breakthrough.

Three deliveries later, Ishan Kishan attempted to repeat an earlier six but failed to execute the shot, handing Paul another wicket and checking India's momentum.

Abhishek, having been denied regular strike during the opening exchanges, never found his usual fluency. He battled his way to 29 from 24 balls.

Shreyas Iyer's 16 from 11 deliveries also failed to provide the necessary acceleration, while Dhir departed for a first-ball duck. Those dismissals allowed West Indies to gain control of the middle phase.

Unlike their opponents, India struggled to exploit the short deliveries. The batters managed only 32 runs from 31 balls against that length, with the surface occasionally holding up and producing uneven bounce.

Both Iyer and Hope acknowledged after the match that the ball did not always arrive as cleanly as expected.

Tilak and Nitish eventually adjusted to the pace of the pitch and launched a spirited recovery. Their 70-run partnership came from only 5.2 overs and temporarily revived India's hopes of completing another large chase.

The required rate remained demanding, however, and their dismissals ended India's final meaningful resistance. With both set batters gone, the lower order was left with far too much to accomplish.

Paul's intelligent work at the death completed his five-wicket haul, while Motie's economical spell ensured India never fully recovered from the slowdown in the middle overs.

West Indies' successful defence levelled the series and set up a decisive final encounter in Bengaluru.

Brief scores: India vs West Indies – 4th T20I

West Indies 247/3 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 102*, Sherfane Rutherford 49; Prince Yadav 1-36, Axar Patel 1-45) beat India 223/9 in 19.3 overs (Sanju Samson 56, Tilak Varma 43; Keemo Paul 5-41, Gudakesh Motie 2-13) by 24 runs.