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New Delhi: Shai Hope etched his name in history books with a sensational century in the second ODI between the West Indies and New Zealand in Napier. The WI skipper led from the front and played one of the finest knocks in the history of 50-over cricket to lift the visitors from a precarious position to a strong first-innings total and gave his side hope of levelling the series after a narrow defeat in 1st ODI.
Put into bat in a rain-curtailed match that was reduced to a 34-overs-a-side due to heavy downpour, the visiting batting line-up was put to a test by the Kiwi pacers, who pegged the Caribbean side back by picking up wickets at regular intervals.
That's when Hope took matters into his own hands and singlehandedly took West Indies to 247 for 9 in 34 overs. Hope showed remarkable composure and courage to score freely amidst the chaos that ensued at the other end. Hope batted intelligently with the lower order and completed his 19th ODI century and first against New Zealand in the final over of the innings with a maximum.
The sensational century helped Hope surpass a legendary list of players, including Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Chris Gayle, among others. Hope's 12th century against a different opponent in ODI cricket took him to the top of the pile in the elite list.
12 - Shai Hope
11 - Sachin Tendulkar
11 - Ricky Ponting
11 - Chris Gayle
11 - Hashim Amla
11 - Martin Guptill
During his remarkable knock, Hope also became the second-fastest West Indies batter to reach 6000 ODI runs, breaking Lara's record. While Lara, an all-time ODI great, reached the milestone in 155 innings, Hope crossed the mark in just 142 innings. Legendary batter Sir Vivian Richards holds the record of being the fastest West Indies batter to reach 6000 runs in just 141 innings.
Hope's captain's knock was studded with four maximums and 13 boundaries. His stunning effort lifted the West Indies from 86/5 to a competitive score and gave the West Indies hope of remaining alive in the series.
