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Justin Greaves and John Campbell came with some hope of a ray of hope with their batting for the West Indies National Cricket Team today (September 27) at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
After more than a decade, an opening pair secured a hundred-plus-run partnership against India in an ODI match. West Indies put up a fighting total of 295 in the batting first, but Shai Hope said that they had the opportunity to add more runs in their innings.
Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill still the show
That 135-run partnership could have been the most talked-about instance from the India vs West Indies 1st ODI match of the series, but at the end of the day, it was the Indian superstar Virat Kohli and the skipper Shubman Gill who bossed the rivals to secure an 8-wicket win in the lead-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill's centuries led India to a comfortable win. While Gill departed after scoring 110 runs off 108 balls, Virat Kohli remained unbeaten with 139 runs from 88 balls with ten 4s and nine 6s. To seal the win, Virat hit two back-to-back maximums off Keacy Carty.
We could definitely put more runs: West Indies captain Shai Hope on middle order collapse
After the match, West Indies captain Shai Hope said that they could put 60 to 80 runs more on the scoreboard as the surface was good for the batters. But it was also up to the bowlers to defend a target close to three hundred.
"Yeah, for sure. We could definitely put more runs on the board. You know, when you come in on surfaces such as good surfaces here in India, you've got to make sure you put a good score on the board. Maybe 60 to 80 runs short, to be fair."
"But yeah, then in the way you're bowling, when you're trying to defend a target, close to 290, I think you gotta make sure everything goes right for you," Shai Hope said on their batting performance (as quoted by Cricbuzz).
Shai Hope blames his middle-order batters
Hope mentioned that the middle-order batters did not perform according to the team's expectations. Praising both of the openers, Shai Hope stated that they got a really good start at the beginning of the innings, but ended well short of the expected total as the rest of the batters on the team, especially the middle-order batters, failed to meet the expectations.
He said, "Yeah, that's it. When you got a platform like that, I thought the guys started really well. It's something that we were trying to improve on a lot for the last couple of series, the opening pair. And must commend the guys for the start they gave us."
"They laid a very good foundation, but then we got stuck there in the middle,e and then it made it a lot more difficult for us in the back end to get a competitive total," Shai Hope added in the post-match presentation ceremony.
