In the ancient contest between bat and ball, records exist not merely as statistics but as monuments to human will — and on Saturday in Chandigarh, Shai Hope quietly dismantled one. Already trailing 0-2 in the series, the West Indies captain kept wicket for fifty overs, then strode to the crease and guided his team to 352 for five, the highest successful run-chase in ODI history, refusing to yield until the improbable had become permanent. It is a reminder that dead rubbers are only dead until someone decides to live in them.
West Indies Complete Record ODI Chase Behind Hope's 162
He kept wicket through fifty overs, then refused to leave
Mark
So Hope kept wicket for the entire Indian innings and then went out and scored 162? That's a lot of work in one day.
Mimi
It is. He was also dealing with some physical discomfort—he mentioned something in the groin area—but he said he wanted to fight through it. The dew in the evening helped the chase, which he pointed out afterward.
Luke
The source says he "struggled in the last overs" but then also says he accelerated and took sixty-two off his last thirty-nine balls. Those statements seem to pull in different directions. What actually happened?
Mimi
Fair point. It sounds like he may have been uncomfortable early in his innings but found his rhythm as the chase progressed. The acceleration came late, not throughout.
Mark
India had already won the series two-nil. Why did they even show up for this game?
Mimi
They did show up—they made 351 and Rahul played brilliantly. But once you've won a series, there's less urgency. The West Indies, on the other hand, were chasing their first win against India since 2023.
Luke
One thing I want to flag: the source says Anshul Kamboj was a debutant who went wicketless. That's interesting context, but we don't know if he was ineffective or just unlucky. The reporting doesn't give us his actual figures.
Mimi
True. We know he didn't take a wicket, but not how many overs he bowled or what his economy rate was.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
They move into a five-match T20 series starting Tuesday in Lucknow. The West Indies have momentum now, which is a shift from where they were at the start of this ODI series.
Luke
The source says the West Indies "overcame India for the first time since 2023." That's a three-year gap. That's a significant drought, and it makes this win feel bigger than just a dead-rubber consolation.
Mark
So this wasn't just about breaking a losing streak—it was about proving something after years of not being able to beat them.
Mimi
Exactly. And Hope's personal performance—his second successive hundred in the series, his fifth against India overall—anchors it as a genuine individual and team achievement.
O Pulso
- A series already lost and a record no team had ever claimed created the unlikely stage for one of cricket's most complete individual performances.
- India's 351 for seven — built on Rohit Sharma's 92 and Lokesh Rahul's blazing 129 not out — looked impregnable, especially after West Indies lost their opener to injury before a ball was bowled in the chase.
- Hope, promoted to open under crisis conditions, methodically dismantled the target: fifty off 46 balls, a century off 104, then an eruption of 62 runs from his final 39 deliveries as India's slow-over-rate penalty gifted an extra infield fielder.
- A 109-run second-wicket stand with Jangoo, a composed partnership with Rutherford, and Keemo Paul's punishing cameo kept the chase alive through its most dangerous middle passages.
- West Indies crossed the line with ten balls to spare, snapping a losing streak against India stretching back to 2023 and carrying rare momentum into a five-match T20 series beginning Tuesday in Lucknow.
In the ancient contest between bat and ball, records exist not merely as statistics but as monuments to human will — and on Saturday in Chandigarh, Shai Hope quietly dismantled one. Already trailing 0-2 in the series, the West Indies captain kept wicket for fifty overs, then strode to the crease and guided his team to 352 for five, the highest successful run-chase in ODI history, refusing to yield until the improbable had become permanent. It is a reminder that dead rubbers are only dead until someone decides to live in them.
Shai Hope had already spent fifty overs crouching behind the stumps in the Chandigarh heat when he walked to the crease to begin the most consequential innings of his career. The West Indies needed 352 — a total no team in ODI history had ever successfully chased — and they were already short-handed after Jewel Andrew was hospitalized with a finger injury. Hope's promotion to the top of the order, born of necessity, proved to be the decision that changed everything.
He reached fifty off 46 balls and his century off 104, claiming his twenty-first ODI hundred and his fifth against India. But it was what came after the milestone that defined the day. Hope plundered 62 runs from his final 39 deliveries, finishing unbeaten on 162 from 143 balls. Along the way, partnerships with Jangoo, Rutherford, and Keemo Paul — whose 44 off 35 balls provided crucial acceleration — kept the chase on track. In the closing overs, India's slow over-rate penalty placed an extra fielder inside the circle, and Hope and Motie ruthlessly exploited it, adding 62 off just 29 balls.
India had appeared to have done enough. Rohit Sharma rescued a faltering innings after Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli both fell cheaply to Jayden Seales, adding 137 with Ruturaj Gaikwad before being caught for 92. Lokesh Rahul then took over, finishing with an unbeaten 129 off 87 deliveries — six sixes, ten fours — to lift India to 351 for seven. It was a total that had every right to win the match.
The series had already been decided — India took the first two games by eight wickets apiece — making this final match a formality that Hope refused to honour. Speaking afterward, he acknowledged pushing through physical discomfort and credited the evening dew for easing the chase. The West Indies claimed a single, historic victory, and now both sides turn toward a five-match T20 series in Lucknow on Tuesday, with the momentum having shifted, quietly but unmistakably, to the Caribbean.
Shai Hope kept wicket through all fifty overs in the Chandigarh heat, then walked to the crease and refused to leave until the West Indies had done something no team in one-day international cricket had done before. His unbeaten 162, struck from 143 balls with seventeen boundaries and three sixes, carried the West Indies to 352 for five—a chase of 351 that India had set, and a record run-chase in ODI history. The West Indies won by five wickets with ten balls remaining on Saturday, finally breaking a losing streak against India that stretched back to 2023.
The series was already decided. India had won the first two matches decisively, each by eight wickets, in Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati. This third game in Chandigarh was a footnote, a dead rubber—until Hope decided otherwise. He had moved to the top of the order after Jewel Andrew injured a finger taking a catch and had to be hospitalized, leaving the West Indies short-handed. Hope's promotion proved inspired. He reached fifty off forty-six balls, then one hundred off one hundred and four—his twenty-first ODI century and his fifth against India. But the innings only truly accelerated after he passed the milestone.
India's bowling attack included Mohammed Siraj and all-rounder Nitish Reddy, recalled for this match, and debutant pacer Anshul Kamboj, who took no wickets. Hope and Amir Jangoo had built a partnership of 109 runs off ninety-nine balls for the second wicket, steadying the chase after India's early strikes. When Jangoo was run out in the twenty-first over, Sherfane Rutherford stepped in and added fifty-six with Hope. Then came Keemo Paul, whose forty-four off thirty-five balls included five fours and a fifty-six-run partnership with his captain. After Paul was caught off Gurnoor Brar in the forty-first over, Hope shifted into another gear entirely. He took sixty-two runs off his final thirty-nine balls faced, hitting seven more fours and two sixes to drive the West Indies across the line. In the closing stages, with India serving a slow over rate penalty that placed an extra fielder inside the thirty-yard circle, Hope and Gudakesh Motie added sixty-two off twenty-nine balls for the sixth wicket.
India had batted first and made 351 for seven, built on the back of Lokesh Rahul's 129 not out and Rohit Sharma's 92. Sharma had resurrected the innings after a disastrous start—captain Shubman Gill caught behind on one and Virat Kohli bowled for a golden duck, both to Jayden Seales. Only twenty-eight runs came in the first ten overs before Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad added 137 for the third wicket. Sharma was caught off Paul in the twenty-fifth over, having missed a second consecutive hundred in the series. Gaikwad, who made fifty-seven off sixty-nine balls, fell to Seales's third wicket four overs later. Rahul then took charge, scoring fifty off forty-one balls and his second fifty off thirty-nine, finishing with six sixes and ten fours off eighty-seven deliveries.
Hope spoke afterward of fighting through discomfort—something around the groin area that he pushed through until the end. He noted that chasing in India, especially with the dew settling on the ground in the evening, had made the pursuit easier. The West Indies had overcome the odds and the series deficit to claim a single, decisive victory. The teams now turn to a five-match Twenty20 series beginning Tuesday in Lucknow, with momentum having shifted unexpectedly to the Caribbean side.
Citações Notáveis
Chasing is always a lot easier in India, especially with the dew. Glad we got over the line.— Shai Hope
Felt something around the groin area but wanted to fight through till the end.— Shai Hope
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em Al Jazeera ↗