Master chaser MS Dhoni's advice to "take the game deep" inspired Shai Hope to lead his side to a thrilling victory against England in the opening ODI, the West Indies skipper revealed. (Cricket News)
Former Indian captain Dhoni is known for﷽ his calm demeanour and match-winning abilities, as he always looks to𒁃 take the chase deep when the target is massive.
And after West Indies were reduced to 213/5 in pursuit of 326 here on Sunday, Hope, a wicketkeeper batter just likeಌ Dhoni, recalled a chat with one of the best finishers in the game.
"A very, very famous person, MS Dhoni -- we had a chat a while ago, and he was saying, 'You ཧalways have a lot more time than you think'," Hope said at the post-match presentation.
"That's one thing that has stuck wit👍h me t♑hroughout the years I've been playing ODI cricket," Hope added.
West Indies faced the uphill task of scoring 106 in the last 10 overs. But along side Romario Shephard (48; 28b), Hope smashed an unbeaten 109 off 83 balls, that included four hits to the fence and seven maximums, to take eke out a memoraไble win here on Sunday.
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The 30-year-old struck three sixes in four balls off Sam Cu♊rran in the penultimate over of the chase to give W🌠est Indies a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
In the process, he also recorded his 16th ODI and fastest century of🅰 his career.
