The pendulum has indeed swung back. West Indies responded in kind to a high-octane clash under the Hyderabad lights, as they executed a masterclass of resilience on the fourth T20I to hand India a 24-run defeat and peg the series at 2-2.

While recent encounters have been characterized by batting carnage, a thrilling mix of brute force and tactical nous on Wednesday night saw the home team edge past the visitors at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. A winner-takes-all series decider beckons at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Shreyas Iyer blames the bowlers

Asked to bat first, the visitors gave a masterclass in cutting-edge power-hitting and situational awareness to post a daunting 247/3. At the core of the charge stood skipper Shai Hope, who notched up an exquisite unbeaten 102 off 50 deliveries, to register his second century of a sensational series.

However, the West Indies chief had mixed emotions after the match as he admitted that the surface was not as good as the average highway.

“I thought it was a good score because the surface was a little better than we expected, with the new ball, some balls were pitching up or staying low… it was a little harder to hit through the line,” said Hope.

Chasing 250, the Men in Blue came out with guns blazing, but a stellar bowling display derailed their hopes as they were eventually skittled out for 223/9 in 19.3 overs with the last man, Arshdeep Singh, retired hurt.

Keemo Paul's Plan and Shreyas Iyer's Honest Feedback

Quickfire spells of Keemo Paul saw action as he dismantled the Indian middle and lower orders with a handy five-wicket haul of 5/41.

“Simple plan, nail the Yorkers, and if it doesn't work out, then we try and go into the wicket or try and be smart with the slower stuff,” quipped the West Indies quick. “Also, the slower ones were grabbing a little bit so we didn't want to be too predictable. Not easy bowling on these wickets, but you have to back yourself.”

While the West Indians were busy dissecting the Indian tail, the Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer remained pretty straightforward when asked where he thought the problem lay.

“Bowling, we didn't execute well at the start of the game, and we just didn't execute our plans in the end, and when you're chasing 250, you need to go about it in a certain way,” Iyer said. “I liked our approach in the chase, but we were unfortunate that we weren't able to execute our ball plans.”

However, the Mumbai batter is unfazed by the loss as he packs his bags for Karnataka, saying that the approach will be the same.

“The approach is going to be the same moving forward. We don't have to think about too many things in bowling; it's about executing and also trying to have a fresh mind. You walk out there on a particular day, execute your plans and seize the moment. Even though the momentum went towards us in between but their ability to come back was top-notch, and I'm sure the fifth one will be an interesting contest,” he added.

All Roads Lead to Bengaluru

From Hyderabad pearls to Bengaluru gems, a thrilling series has come down to the final two overs. With both sides having registered two wins each and forty overs left, Saturday night can't come soon enough.