Slower balls, lack of dew key to West Indies win over India, says Keemo Paul

Keemo Paul credited slower deliveries and the absence of dew for West Indies' 24-run victory over India in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad. His five-wicket haul helped defend Shai Hope's century and level the five-match series 2-2

Hyderabad: West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul said slower balls helped the team contain India’s hard-hitting batting attack during their win in the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here.

Shai Hope’s magnificent century helped the West Indies post a massive total of 247/3 batting first, before Paul starred with a five-wicket haul to restrict India to 223 in 19.3 overs. The visitors thus levelled the five-match series 2-2 ahead of the final match on Saturday.

---

“From the batters’ perspective, the message we got after the first five overs was that it was a pretty good wicket. One or two balls were gripping, but other than that, it was pretty good,” Paul told the media at the post-match press conference following the 24-run win in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

“As bowlers, the slower balls helped us here. On other wickets and at other grounds, we haven’t been getting much grip, but it worked here,” he added.

The all-rounder said the team had held meetings to discuss plans to counter the Indian batting attack.

“Every team has its own game plans. We sit together and discuss them, and we have some pretty long team meetings. I knew what I wanted to do, what my field settings would be and what my plan was. Obviously, I won’t share my plan, but I think I executed it pretty well,” he said.

Paul also highlighted that the bowlers had executed their plans effectively in the absence of dew, as had been the case in the third match, which India won by 14 runs in Indore.

“Some pretty big scores have been chased in this series, but I think a key factor is that there was no dew (in Hyderabad). When there is dew, it becomes quite hard for teams bowling second. In the last game and this one, there was no dew, and I think we executed our plans perfectly,” he said.

Paul became the first West Indies bowler to register multiple five-wicket hauls in T20Is. His 5/41 against India in Hyderabad was his second five-wicket haul in the format, following his 5/15 against Bangladesh in a T20I in Mirpur in 2018.

The West Indies will travel to Bengaluru for the series finale, with the five-match series level at 2-2 and everything to play for in the final game.