Shai Hope vital to West Indies' batting renaissance in ODIs
Shai Hope vital to West Indies' batting renaissance in ODIs
As Axar Patel smacked one over Kyle Mayers's head in the final over of the chase to seal an incredible win for India on Sunday (July 24), the cameras panned to multiple dejected faces on the field. West Indies thought they were on course to snap out of their losing streak, but Axar had other ideas. Returning to the ODI XI after almost five years for this series, Axar came up with an all-round effort that would have made Ravindra Jadeja proud.
The loss wasn't an easy one to take for the hosts despite the fact that they had already lost 12 times this year prior to this contest, winning only four. This was their eighth consecutive defeat in the format and they have now won only one out of their last 7 series - that lone victory coming against Netherlands. No wonder disappointment was writ large on those faces after they suffered a defeat in a contest that was dominated by them in large parts. But given their poor form in ODI cricket in 2022 has without a doubt centered around their batting performances, the improvement in that department has definitely been a silver lining in the last two matches.
Prior to this ongoing series against India, only twice had West Indies gone past the 300-run mark this year. Even 200 at one stage appeared harder to get breached as witnessed against Bangladesh. No wonder Nicholas Pooran kept stressing the need to bat full 50 overs for a start. The batting renaissance that he had wished for appears to have arrived now and there is little wonder that Shai Hope has been at the forefront of it.
Hope has been West Indies' best batter in this format over the last few years. But his seventh year in international cricket has also been his second-worst in terms of average. In his last 10 ODI innings prior to Sunday, Hope had registered two centuries but failed to go past 25 even once in the other eight games. The scores in India before that read 8, 27 and 5. In many ways, his erratic form has coincided with West Indies' shoddy showing with the bat in 2022. On Sunday, he definitely had a point to prove on what was also his 100th game for West Indies in the format.
For someone who looks to bide his time, Hope actually made an indifferent start in the second ODI and trotted to 22 off 21 balls - something that he acknowledged during the mid-innings break. The 28-year-old did eventually slow down but he managed to do what the West Indies usually expect of him. Over the years he has been renowned for managing to hold one end which allows the more exuberant batsmen at the other end to play with freedom. Mayers and Shamarh Brooks did exactly that in the first-half of the innings and Pooran took over in the second half, clearing the rope six times with ease.
Even though Hope's dot ball percentage was almost at 50, it's a template the West Indies have been comfortable with in the past and will bank on in the future as well in order to put up better performances with the bat. Hope didn't mind handing the strike over to Pooran repeatedly in the slog overs but the moment the left-hander was back in the pavilion, he didn't find it harder to take charge. In the 45th over, the opener stepped down the track to Yuzvendra Chahal while batting on 95 to smash a six. As a result, he became just the 10th cricketer to bring up a century on his 100th game - a feat that sparked some wild celebrations from the batsman. He followed that hit with another six off the very next ball and was later dismissed only in the penultimate over of the innings.
His efforts ensured West Indies crossed 300 for the second game in succession. The last time they made a 300 plus total prior to the India series, it was once again Hope who stood tall with a century. With 13 tons already in 100 games, Hope is without a doubt the most important cog in that batting line-up. With Mayers and Brooks complementing him at the top of the order, West Indies seem to have found the ideal top 3 going forward. Pooran felt the loss in the opening ODI was 'bittersweet' given how much they improved since the Bangladesh series and almost managed to beat a strong Indian outfit. While the loss in the second game would definitely sting given they were the favourites at one stage to close out the contest in their favour, these two matches have still given Pooran & Co. plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about reversing their ODI fortunes with just 15 months left for the World Cup.
| Share | Tweet |
No comments:
Post a Comment