Skipper Shai Hope scored an unbeaten 162 off 143 balls as the West Indies defeated India by five wickets in the third and final ODI in New Chandigarh on Saturday (October 3). It was a consolation win for the Caribbean side after India had sealed the three-match series with victories in the first two games.
Opting to bat first, KL Rahul's unbeaten 129 and half-centuries from Rohit Sharma (92) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (57) propelled India to a formidable 351/7.
During the chase, Hope led from the front and carried his bat to get the job done in 48.2 overs. Amir Jangoo (67) and Keemo Paul (44) also made vital contributions as the West Indies pulled off their highest successful ODI chase.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Hope revealed that a past conversation with the legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni heavily inspired his calm approach. Dhoni's classic advice—that a batter always has more time than he/she thinks—helped him break down the massive total and look at the process rather than panicking about the escalating required run rate.
“Yeah, it's something in India, it's always a lot easier, especially when dew comes out. But yeah, we wanted to finish the series on a strong note, so I'm just happy the guys got over the line today,” Hope said.
For Hope, the win was particularly remarkable because the West Indies were thin on batting depth during the chase. Young batter Jewel Andrew was rushed to the hospital with a finger injury sustained while fielding, and Vitel Lawes was also unavailable.
To add to the physical strain, Hope had already kept wickets for the full 50 overs in humid conditions before opening the batting and fighting through a groin injury that flared up around the 30th over.
“Probably about 30 overs in, felt a little something in the groin area. So just tried to fight to the end there.
“[On how he paced his innings and managed the chase] Well, firstly, we were a batter down, probably two if you count Vitel Lawes as well. So it would always be a challenge. And something that I had a great chat with the great man MS Dhoni, he was telling me you always have more time than you think. So just trying not to focus too much on the end result. Just look at the process, try to break the game down as best as I can and find ways to get the boundaries in the back end,” Hope added.
The West Indies captain expertly factored in India's slow over-rate. Knowing the hosts would be penalized by having to bring an extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle (leaving only four outside instead of five) for the final overs, he timed his late-innings explosion perfectly alongside Gudakesh Motie to seal the game with 10 balls to spare
“I even thought about the overs that the Indian team were behind. So I knew they would have to bring a couple fielders in, in the back end. So it's always tough when you're trying to defend a score and you got to have five men in the ring. So all those things I calculated when I was batting. Just so happened that everything worked out for us in the back end,” he stated.
India walked away with a 2-1 ODI series victory, having dominantly won the first two matches in Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati. The series was an absolute paradise for batters; notably, in the second ODI, the West Indies posted a monstrous 405/7, which India chased down in a record-shattering effort.
Reflecting on the series, Shai Hope said the margin for error was "very, very small" for the bowlers in such batting-friendly conditions.
“I think we played some really good cricket in patches. The batters were scoring some runs. That's what we really wanted to do. So yeah, we've been doing really well for the last two, three years where batters have been more consistent. We asked them to put big scores on the board. It's always difficult bowling in these conditions. We know India, more batter friendly. You got to bring your skills out and very, very, very small margins for error. So from a bowling standpoint, we learned a lot. I'm sure the guys are going to take this and hopefully we can get a lot better in the bowling side of things going forward,” he remarked.
Since the action immediately shifts to a five-match T20I series starting on October 6 in Lucknow, Hope mentioned having a short two-day window to treat the niggle and recover in time for the shorter format.
“So hopefully, I got two days to turn things around, so hopefully I'm match ready,” he concluded.
