India vs Windies 2018: Really Good Game Of Cricket: Jason Holder

Riding on century from Shai Hope and yet another impressive knock from Shimron Hetmyer, Windies secured a thrilling draw against India in the second ODI.

Not many would have given Windies a chance when India ended their innings on 321 for 6 in the allotted 50 overs. Their poor start would have further bolstered those speculations. Kieran Powell, who had scored a fifty in the first game, was out for just 18. Chandrapaul Hemraj and Marlon Samuels also failed to score big as Windies found themselves three down for just 78.

But once Hetmyer and Shai Hope joined hands in the middle, the game turned on its head. While Hetmyer launched a stunning counterassault, Hope played the role of second fiddle to perfection. The duo added 143 runs for the fourth wicket to revive the chase. Yuzvendra Chahal ended the stand by dismissing Hetmyer. But by then the 20-year old had inflicted enough damage on the hosts by slamming 94 off just 64.

The dismissal,  however, did not bring any respite for Windies as Hope continued to bat with authority. He soon reached his century despite running out of partners from one end. The equation was finally down to 5 from 1 and Hope hit Umesh Yadav for a four to secure a deserved draw for his side.

Earlier in the match, Windies found themselves hopeless once again in front of red-hot India skipper Virat Kohli as he slammed his second consecutive century in the series.  Asked to bowl first, Windies started the proceedings well. Kemar Roach sent back in-form Rohit Sharma for just 4 before Ashley Nurse accounted for Shikhar Dhawan to reduce India to 40 for 2.

However, Kohli once again bailed India out of trouble. He and Ambati Rayudu stitched together a stand of 139 runs to lay the foundation for a good total.  Nurse ended the stand by dismissing Rayudu for 73. But while wickets kept on falling at regular intervals from one end, Kohli held firm from the other. In the end, he remained unbeaten on 157 to take India to a challenging total of 321 for 6.

Speaking after the game, Windies skipper Jason Holder called the match a good one before congratulating Kohli who reached 10,000 ODI runs during the match. He also had a word of praise for Hope and Hetmyer.

“Really good game of cricket and Virat played a brilliant knock and congrats to him on the milestone. Hope is a young talent and he played a magnificent knock. Hetty was upset that he got out in a crucial stage and we had a very good chance and it was very good to see Shai bat till the end. I thought it was around par, and it’s very good to see that we had two consistent games in a row. Obviously we could have picked a few more wickets in the middle overs. He is one of those guys who has a lot of variations. Quite effective at that stage of the game and I like the way he handled himself in his maiden game,” said Holder.