West Indies captain Shai Hope recorded his 16th ODI century on Sunday. Against England, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, with the great Viv Richards in attendance, Shai Hope cracked 109* (83) with 4 fours and 7 sixes to take West Indies over the line in a run-chase of 326, winning the game with only 7 balls to spare and 4 wickets in hand.
Hope belted Sam Curran for three sixes in four balls in the 49th over to complete both his century and the run-chase, taking West Indies to a 1-0 lead in this 3-match ODI series.
West Indies had failed to qualify for the World Cup 2023, and this win would give them a lot of confidence and spread positivity in the dressing room and among their fans.
Shai Hope credits chat with MS Dhoni after a successful finish in a run-chase
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Shai Hope revealed that he had had a chat with former India skipper and arguably the greatest white-ball finisher, MS Dhoni. Hope revealed MS Dhoni had praised his knack of picking the lengths early.
“A very, very famous person, MS Dhoni – we had a chat a while ago, and he was saying, ‘You always have a lot more time than you think. That’s one thing that has stuck with me throughout the years I’ve been playing ODI cricket,” Shai Hope said.
The match hung in balance until the penultimate over of the West Indies’ chase. They needed 18 runs in 11 balls before Shai Hope smashed Sam Curran for 3 sixes in four balls to seal a terrific win.
On the finish and his assault on Sam Curran in the 49th over, Hope said, “After the second [six of the 49th over], I knew we pretty much had the game in the balance. If we had that over to finish the game, I always try to finish the game with one over to spare if I can. I don’t want to leave it to anyone else, so the aim was to finish off at the back end.”
Curran finished with figures of 0/98, which is now the worst bowling figure for an England men’s bowler in ODIs.
