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Shai Hope smashed his 20th ODI century during the second ODI between West Indies and India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday, September 30. The West Indies captain also registered his fourth ODI hundred against India.
Hope's century came after he survived two chances earlier in the innings, with Kuldeep Yadav and Virat Kohli both unable to complete catches. He eventually made India pay for the missed opportunities before Kuldeep dismissed him for 104 off 94 balls.
Shai Hope scripts history, breaks Dhoni, Lara record with 20th ODI ton
Hope reached his century in the 39th over when Brar bowled a low full toss. The West Indies captain used his wrists to flick the ball behind square, sending it racing towards the boundary and bringing up his 20th ODI century.
The century also took Hope past Brian Lara's tally of 19 ODI hundreds for West Indies. Only Chris Gayle, with 25 centuries, now has more ODI hundreds for the Caribbean side.
Most ODI centuries for West Indies
25: Chris Gayle, 291 innings
20: Shai Hope, 151 innings
19: Brian Lara, 285 innings
17: Desmond Haynes, 237 innings
11: Gordon Greenidge, 127 innings
11: Viv Richards, 167 innings
Shai Hope's latest hundred also created a new record among wicketkeeper-captains in ODI cricket. He now has seven centuries as an ODI wicketkeeper-captain, moving past former India captain MS Dhoni.
Most ODI centuries by wicketkeeper-captains
7: Shai Hope*
6: MS Dhoni
4: AB de Villiers
Hope has been particularly productive against India, with four of his 20 ODI centuries coming against them. His other hundreds have come against Bangladesh (3), England (2), Sri Lanka (2), Pakistan (2), South Africa (1), Afghanistan (1), Zimbabwe (1), Netherlands (1), Ireland (1), Nepal (1) and New Zealand (1).
Kuldeep Yadav cleans up Shai Hope to get crucial breakthrough for India
Shai Hope's innings eventually ended in the 40th over of the West Indies innings when Kuldeep Yadav produced the breakthrough India needed.
Kuldeep bowled a googly that Hope failed to pick. The batter attempted to slog it towards mid-wicket, but the ball took the top edge and went high towards third man, where Auqib Nabi completed a straightforward catch.
Hope walked back after scoring 104 from 94 balls, including eight fours and three sixes. His dismissal was similar to the manner in which he was dismissed in the first ODI.
Kuldeep has also enjoyed success against Hope throughout their ODI meetings. The spinner has dismissed him five times in 15 innings, conceding 178 runs from 228 balls. Hope averages 35.60 against Kuldeep at a strike rate of 78.07.
It's about putting your best foot forward and finding the right solutions to win games - Shai Hope
Before the match, Hope spoke to Ravi Shastri at the toss about West Indies' decision to bat first. He acknowledged that the toss offered both teams an equal opportunity and said his side's focus was on putting enough runs on the board for the bowlers to defend. He said:
“Yeah, for sure. You know, coin toss is a 50-50 chance, and regardless of what happens, we got to do well. So we've got another opportunity today to put some runs on the board and try to get a good score and give our bowlers something to defend.”
Hope also reflected on West Indies' batting in the first ODI, where they made 295/7 after being well placed for a higher total. He felt the team needed to identify its mistakes quickly because of the short turnaround between the two games.
“Yeah, probably a bit more runs than that, to be fair. But yeah, just about understanding and identifying the areas we need to improve and finding ways to get better at them as quickly as we can.”
He added that the surface in Guwahati looked good but could offer some assistance early in the innings.
“It looks pretty good. I just think it'll probably do a little bit to start, but we just see what a good score got to assess quickly and then would be at the back end.”
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