An unbeaten century (109 runs off 83 balls) by Player of the Match (POTM) Shai Hope helped West Indies draw first blood as they defeated England by 4 wickets to claim the primary ODI on the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound in Antigua on Sunday, December 3.
Skipper Hope’s hundred was studded with 4 fours and 7 sixes and helped the Windies file their highest ODI chase within the Caribbean as they scaled 326 down with seven balls to spare. Allrounder Romario Shepherd had a pivotal position to play within the chase as he smashed a quickfire 48 off simply 28 balls to carry the asking charge inside achievable distance for the hosts.
Playing solely his fifth ODI, opener Alick Athanaze stitched a 104-run stand in 17.3 overs with fellow opener Brandon King (35 off 44 balls) to get the Men in Maroon off to a dream begin. Athanaze batted with a peaceful head to rating 66 off 65 balls with the assistance of 9 fours and two sixes.Â
Athanaze took the stress off King, who was struggling to carry fluency in his manner throughout his keep within the center. The duo instantly put stress on the English bowlers and made them look pretty extraordinary.
English skipper Jos Buttler was compelled to take his pacers out of the assault – a strategic ploy that paid dividends as Rehan Ahmed put brakes on Athanaze and Liam Livingstone ended King’s knock.
However, regardless of dropping each openers in fast succession, the Windies skipper did not let the stress get to him and anchored the chase to perfection. He acquired the much-needed assist from Shepherd because the star allrounder took the group out of a precarious state of affairs.
With 113 wanted off 68 balls on the fall of Sherfane Rutherford’s wicket, West Indies had been staring down the barrel and wanted a whirlwind knock that got here from Shepherd’s bat.Â
Earlier within the day, the toss fell within the favour of England and Buttler determined to put runs on the board. All the English batters acquired begins barring the skipper however none of them managed to keep lengthy sufficient within the center to launch an onslaught. Harry Brook was essentially the most spectacular English batter as he scored 71 off 72 balls, together with seven fours and two sixes.
Some lower-order flourish by Sam Curran (38 off 26) and Brydon Carse (31* off 21 balls) helped the Three Lions submit the largest complete on the venue and had momentum on their facet main into the second innings.
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