Published: Dec 12, 2018, 09:14 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 12, 2018, 09:14 AM (IST)
Shai Hope’s unbeaten 146 in the second ODI on Tuesday at Mirpur has kept the three-match series alive and given West Indies their first win on the tour of Bangladesh, following three-day defeats in the Tests and a loss in the first ODI.
Chasing 256, West Indies won with two balls and four wickets remaining courtesy a career-best 146 not out off 144 balls from Hope, who was promoted to open the innings. The next best score for the visiting team was Darren Bravo’2 27 followed by 26 from Marlon Samuels and an unbeaten 18 from Keemo Paul, who with Hope took West Indies over the finish line to level the series 1-1.
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Hope rated his the best of his three ODI centuries, because this one delivered a win as opposed to the first two which resulted in ties, most recently in India last month.
“It must be above the other two, because we tied the last two games. I am just pleased to get over the line. It is great to score a hundred but there’s more joy if you can get over the line as a team,” he said after the win. “It has been a long tour of Asia. It is nice to cross the line. The guys have been working really hard, so very pleased to get this win. We should celebrate a bit more because we didn’t have much to celebrate in recent times. Just keep believing regardless of what’s happening. We are here play cricket, compete and win. It is only a matter of time before we get over the line,” Hope said.
Man of the Match for his hundred, Hope praised his partner in a stand worth 71 for the seventh wicket, Paul.
“It was just to bat as deep as possible,” he said after the win. “We know Keemo has very good batting ability. I had full confidence in him. We just tried to rotate as best as possible. We knew the wicket was bit difficult to come in and strike from ball one so he played a very crucial hand here to go over the line.”
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On a tricky Mirpur surface, Hope faced 144 balls – the next best for the game was Mushfiqur Rahim’s 80 – and hit 12 fours and three sixes. His judgement of the pitch proved clinical in a narrow win against a spin-heavy attack and the cutters of left-armer Mustafizur Rahman.
“It was a bit slow. When the bowlers took some pace off, it was a lot more difficult to get bat on ball, especially against Fizz,” said Hope. “His offcutters were quite difficult to get away in the crucial stage. The wicket wasn’t the best for stroke-play but it was much better than the last game. It was about pacing the innings. I knew that someone had to bat deep. I got the opportunity to start at the top of the order. I had all 50 overs. Just a bit disappointed for some of the guys in the middle to get out at that stage. The key was to bat as deep as possible and make sure that we win the game.”
