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West Indies’ pace-bowling all-rounder Keemo Paul scripted history in the fourth T20I of the series against India at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Paul became the first visiting bowler to take five-wicket haul against India. Paul took five wickets for 41 runs in West Indies' 24-run win to etch his name in record books.
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There is a long list of nine visiting bowlers who have taken a four-fer against India but none had claimed a fifer. The previous best bowling figures by a visiting bowler against India in T20Is belonged to New Zealand's Mitchell Santner with four wickets for 11 runs in Nagpur T20I in March 2016. India were bundled out for 79 in a group stage match of T20 World Cup 2016.
Other bowlers to take a T20I four-fer against India in India are Namibia's Gerhard Erasmus (4/20 in 2026), Australia's Jason Behrendorff (4 for 21 in 2017), South Africa's Marco Jansen (4/22 in 2026) and Ottneil Baartman (4/24 in 2025), USA's Shadley van Schalkwyk (4 for 25 in 2026), England's Jofra Archer (4/33 in 2021), New Zealand's Trent Boult (4/34 in 2017) and Pakistan's Umar Gul (4/37 in 2012).
Paul also became the second West Indies bowler to take five wickets or more in an innings in T20Is against India. The record is in possession of left-arm pacer Obed McCoy with six wickets for 17 runs in Basseterre in August 2022. Overall, Paul’s fifer is the second-best T20I bowling figures against India.
Paul's scalps in record-breaking fifer
Paul was introduced in the fifth over of India's run chase. India had got off to a good start with Sanju Samson crossing the fifty-run mark already. In the fifth over, he got West Indies back into the game with two strikes. On the first ball he bowled, Samson went for the pull shot and was caught by Shimron Hetmyer. He departed for a 23-ball 56. New batter Ishan Kishan hit a six off the second ball he faced but went for another big shot, getting caught at deep mid-wicket by Jewel Andrew. Paul conceded nine runs and took two wickets in his first over.
Paul was brought back into the attack for eighth over. Abhishek Sharma and skipper Shreyas Iyer hit him for a four each in the 11-run over. Then, skipper Shai Hope asked him to bowl the 13th over. He conceded 13 runs including a six off Tilak Varma's bat.
Paul bowled the penultimate over when India needed 43 runs from 12 balls. After bowling a wide and conceding a six, Paul got Nitish Kumar Reddy's wicket. He went for a second big shot but couldn't get the elevation and got caught at long-on by Rovman Powell. As tailender Prince Yadav walked out to bat, Paul opted for a slower one which crashed into the leg-stump. On the hat-trick ball, Arshdeep Singh took a single. On the penultimate ball of his spell, Axar Patel flicked it towards deep mid-wicket fielder Sherfane Rutherford.
Paul bowled a three-wicket over and his final bowling figures of the match read five wickets for 41 runs. This was Paul's T20I career's second fifer. His previous fifer came nearly eight years ago against Bangladesh when he took five wickets for 15 runs in Mirpur. Coincidentally, Paul hasn't been named 'Player of the match' on both occasions. This time, it was skipper Hope who was adjudged ‘Player of the match’ for his unbeaten 102-run knock.
Paul enters elite list
Among pacers from full-member nations, Paul has become the sixth to register two fifers in the T20I format. He has joined Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga, Pakistan's Gul, New Zealand's Tim Southee, India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman. Apart from Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur, the other three bowlers have retired from professional cricket.
Paul shines on comeback, IPL return on cards too?
This was Paul's second T20I since comeback after four years. The previous T20I series he played was against India as well. In 2019, he had been roped in by Delhi Capitals (DC). But, he had a short Indian Premier League (IPL) stint with nine wickets from eight games. He did not play another season.
In the past two seasons, he hasn't been part of any franchise cricket around the world apart from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He is likely to get noticed after a historic fifer against India in batting-friendly Hyderabad wicket.
“Well, first of all, I must thank God and praise. He's keeping me healthy, keeping me on the park and then I just want to contribute to the team. We have a good bunch. I mean Shai (Hope) been playing excellent. The guys were gelling and we were playing really well. We were up for the fight in this T20 tournament. So I just want to contribute whenever I get the opportunity. Obviously it's not easy bowling at these wickets, but you have to back yourself, and tonight I executed and I'm very happy about that,” Paul told the broadcasters when asked about his comeback.
Paul's T20I numbers
The 28-year-old has played 25 T20Is so far and taken 31 wickets at an average just over 25. His economy rate is 9.16 runs per over. He is handy with bat down the order but not explosive. From 17 innings, he has scored 197 runs, staying not out seven times. His averages 19.70 and strikes at 114.53.
Paul ready for series decider
The five-T20I series stands levelled at 2-2 after West Indies kept Indian batters at bay in Hyderabad. The fifth and final T20I of the series will be played at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on October 17. Paul is ready for a challenge posed by T20I series’ final.
“I think we are a pretty confident bunch. I think all the guys, we back our skills and we feel we could beat any team on our day. So it's just about staying calm and believing in ourselves and I think we're doing that really well,” he said.
While plenty of West Indies players have played in Bengaluru during their IPL stints, this is the first time they will be taking on India in T20Is at the venue.
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