When MS Dhoni speaks, everyone listens. So did the West Indian captain Shai Hope. After his match-winning century against England in the 1st ODI at North Sound, the skipper revealed how during a chat with the Indian legend some time back a small piece of advice, more like a pro tip, helped Hope understand his game better.
Hope, who helped West Indies to their second-ever highest successful run chase in the ODIs, scoring a scintillating 109 off 83 deliveries at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday, said Dhoni told him that he has more time in his hand than he thought and how that has stuck with him ever since.
WI vs ENG, 1st ODI: Sensational Shai Hope Seals West Indies Win Over England
“It [the century] was in a winning cause and that’s all I play for. Happy that we won,” Hope said about the knocking before adding, “I had a chat with MS Dhoni some time back and he told me that you always have a lot more time at the crease than you think and that stuck with me”.
After opting to bat first, England posted a challenging total of 325 runs riding on the back of Harry Brook’s 70-ball 71 while opener Phil Salt and one-down Zak Crawley came close to the half-centuries. Sam Curran’s (38 off 26) and Brydon Chase’s (31 off 21) late-order flourish later pushed the England total past the 300-run mark.
In the chase, WI got off to a good start with openers Alick Athanaze and Brandon King combining for a 100-run stand before the chase wobbled with WI losing three wickets in a space of 42 runs. But Hope and Shimron Hetmyer steadied the ship with a stand of 54 runs. Hetmyer made 32 off 30 and Hope then got together with big-hitting allrounder Romario Shepard for another crucial stand of 89 runs to see Windies hope. Shepard hammered 48 off just 28 deliveries as WI closed out the game with 7 balls to spare.
Curran, who had a good day with the bat, took part with the ball finishing with figures of 9.5-0-98-0 – the worst figures in ODIs for an England bowler.
The second ODI of the series will be played on Wednesday at the same venue.