Shai Hope slammed the last ball of the match for four to earn the West Indies a dramatic tie against India, both teams scoring 300-plus for the second ODI in a row.
Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to reach 10 000 ODI runs, scoring a spectacular 157 off 129 balls (13 fours, four sixes) and adding 139 for the third wicket with Ambati Rayudu (73 off 80 balls).
In response, Shai Hope scored an undefeated 123 off 134 balls (10 fours, three sixes) and Shimron Hetmyer hammered a brilliant 94 off 64 balls (four fours, seven sixes), adding 143 off 119 balls.
Kuldeep Yadav picked up 3-67 but suffered the pain of having his final delivery being hit for four by Hope to end the match in a tie, with the West Indies finishing on 321-7 off their 50 overs.
‘Worked very hard today. We lost wickets at crucial stages,’ said Hope after the match. ‘We lost Jason late. But that’s the key, when the game gets tight. We needed to keep wickets in hand. The pitch was good. It came on with the new ball and it spun for both teams. We came here to win, we didn’t come here to complete.’
‘Really good game of cricket. Two outstanding knocks,’ said Jason Holder. ‘Virat was outstanding, congrats to him for 10,000 runs. Shai Hope though, young player, scoring a century like that in a high-pressure game. We said at the beginning of the innings that one of our top four had to go on and bat till the end. Good on Shai to do that. India got a par score. Before coming here, we knew we should be hitting that mark over and over. I thought our bowlers tried. But we were a bit sloppy in the field. Obed McCoy has a lot of variations, the cutters and slower balls and the wicket helps that kind of bowling. He’s one of those players we’ve identities as a death bowler.’
‘First of all, I would like to say ti was a great game of cricket. Full house. Credit to the West Indies as well. They showed great heart and fight. Specially in the second innings, after they were three down, Hetmyer and Hope stuck it out.
‘Pretty proud of my innings and my milestone,’ said Kohli. ‘Everyone was of the opinion we wanted to bat first because it was hot and humid and also in the big games, in World Cups, you might have to put runs on the board and defend. The pitch was drastically different in the second innings. We were looking at 275-280 only, but I got going and we got those extra runs. When the run-rate fell under six, I thought they were in a strong position but Kuldeep got a wicket, Chahal bowled a brilliant over and Umesh and Shami closed it out. I’ve enjoyed being a part of it and West Indies certainly deserved a draw for the way they played.’
India leads the five-match series 1-0 with three matches remaining.
Quotes: Cricinfo
Photo: NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
