Against the run of play, Jangoo was run out due to a miscommunication after Hope had dispatched a ball towards the leg-side, which was stopped by Kohli, and failed to return to his end as Naman Dhir broke the bails in the 21st over.
Hope, however, kept on going from the other end. He found support from Sherfane Rutherford (24) and later Keemo Paul, and secured his 21st ODI hundred in the 34th over.
While Hope played the anchor, Paul opened up his arms and unleashed an array of attacking strokes. With two set batters and an asking rate of 8.1, West Indies held the advantage going into the last 10 overs.
Gurnoor Brar, who had briefly left the field due to an injury, returned then to strike in the 41st over for India, getting rid of the dangerous Paul (44). With Jewel Andrew hampered by injury and a long tail in play, West Indies’ chances fell now on an exhausted Hope.
The West Indian skipper kept ticking along but India managed to string up dot balls to get the asking rate to 11.2 an over at the 45-over mark.
It was then that Hope took on India’s bowling with a flurry of boundaries and closed the gap for the West Indies. He reached his 150 in the 48th over mark with a boundary. Gudakesh Motie (19*) helped the cause with a cameo of his own, and West Indies eventually crossed the line with 10 balls to spare.
India took the series 2-1, and now the two teams will meet in a five-game T20I series beginning from 6 October in Lucknow.
Photo Courtesy: BCCI