'Got to look at luggage weight': Hope jokes after another POTM award in India

West Indies' captain Shai Hope. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)

West Indies captain Shai Hope reflected on his outstanding form after leading his team to a 24-run victory over India in the fourth T20I. His unbeaten century helped West Indies level the five-match series 2-2, setting up a decisive final match in Bengaluru on October 17.

Hope has enjoyed a remarkable tour of India, collecting three Player of the Match awards so far.Hope joked about the difficulty of carrying his growing collection of awards back home, while stressing that his main goal is to help the team win."To be honest, those (POTM trophies) were a bit heavy; we got to look at luggage weight. So I think we are gonna have some problems when I go back home with those Player of the Match awards.

I am just trying to give the team the best chance," he said.

"So as long as we lay that foundation at the start, we got a 50-plus opening partnership. So it was good for us to start innings and then obviously we got that foundation. You can express yourself a bit more in the middle period and then try to give the team the best finish as possible."

Hope explains West Indies' strong total

West Indies posted 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 more challenging than expected, making the total of over 240 runs a competitive score to defend."I honestly felt it was a decent score because the surface; it was actually holding a bit more than we thought initially. We felt as though the pitch would probably come on a bit better. But I found that with the new ball, some balls were kicking up a lot more and then some were staying down as well.

So it is a bit too pace to start, and then obviously with the spinners and the quicks in the back end, it was a little bit more difficult to hit through the line.

So I felt as though 240 plus was a decent score," he added.

Hope enjoys a record-breaking run in India

Hope has scored 601 runs in 16 T20I innings this year at an average of 50.08, including two centuries and four half-centuries. Across international cricket in 2025, he has accumulated 1,336 runs in 30 innings, with five centuries and seven fifties.

His performances in India have been equally impressive. He has scored 278 runs in three ODI innings and 261 runs in four T20I innings. Across both formats, he has amassed 539 runs in seven innings, including four centuries and a half-century.India struggled in the chase despite Sanju Samson's 56 off 22 balls and a 70-run partnership between Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy. West Indies bowler Keemo Paul took five wickets for 41 runs, helping restrict India to 223.With the series tied at 2-2, both teams will compete for the trophy in the final T20I at Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 17.