Hope dashes Afghans’ hopes with unbeaten ton
Rashid Khan and Co couldn’t stop West Indies from the whitewash
LUCKNOW: Opener Shai Hope smashed a sparkling unbeaten century to help two-time world champions West Indies crush hosts Afghanistan by five wickets to make a clean sweep of the three-match ODI series at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Monday night.
With an unassailable 2-0 lead, West Indies always looked in total control while chasing 250 on a placid turf. The righthander Hope made things easy for the side, hitting his seventh hundred in his 69th ODI in style before a moderate crowd, which even rooted for the hosts, who crossed the 200-run mark for the first time in the series on Monday.
Barbadian Hope, who turned 26 on Sunday, played without a care even after the team lost two quick wickets in the third over itself, and kept stroking the ball nicely around the long boundary. All four spinners in Afghanistan team, including skipper Rashid Khan, looked helpless against Hope, whose shot selection was judicious.
In fact, Hope, who managed 77 and 43 in the previous two games, built the West Indies innings quite smartly especially after the side lost Evin Lewis (1) and Shimron Hetmyer (0) in the space of four deliveries of offie Mujeeb Ur-Rehman in the third over.
First, Hope put up a 64-run third-wicket stand with debutant Brandon King (39, 56b, 5x4, 1x6), who was the top run-getter in this year’s CPL, and then went on to add 51 runs for the fourth-wicket with Nicholas Pooran (21, 26b, 1x4, 1x6) and 63 runs for the fifth wicket with captain Kieron Pollard (32, 26b, 1x4, 1x6).
Hope’s 145-ball 109, which contained eight hits to the fence and three sixes, also featured an unbeaten 71-run sixth-wicket partnership with the in-form Roston Chase (42*, 32b, 3x4) as West Indies romped home with eight balls to spare.
Determined for a whitewash in the series, Pollard chose to field first and it turned out to be a good toss to win for the side. After losing opener Ibrahim Zadran (2) quite early in the innings, Afghanistan wickets kept falling at regular intervals.
Opener Hazratullah Zazai and Asghar Afghan raised 44 runs for the fifth wicket before Afghan and Mohammad Nabi stitching together a solid 127 runs for the sixth-wicket, but their strike rate never went over five runs an over. The team was restricted to 249/7.
Unlike the previous two
matches, Zazai played some eyecatching drives, hitting a 59-ball 50, which contained seven fours and two sixes before being caught by Lewis off seamer Keemo Paul, who replaced Sheldon Cottrell in the match.
The experienced Afghan kept the scoreboard ticking with a boundary off Hayden Walsh in the 17th over.
He, along with Nabi, looked almost set to take the team to a big total, but a disciplined West Indies bowling attack kept them in check.
Afghan, who scored almost run-a-ball 86 off 85 balls with the help of three fours and six eyecatching sixes, scored his 12th ODI half-century in his 111th match before being caught by Shepherd at short third man.
Nabi remained unbeaten on 50, which came off 66 balls and was studded with three fours and a six.
Paul enjoyed his return to the side with 3/44, whereas fellow pacer Alzarri Joseph finished with 2/59. Now, the two teams will lock horns in the threematch T20 series, starting Thursday at the same venue.
“We were just trying to play better in each and every game. There were more positives from us in today’s game and we had a chance to win the game as Asghar and Nabi really batted well, but we couldn’t,” Afghan skipper Rashid Khan said after the match.
“We should have defended this total, but Hope played gave us no chance. Now, we have to focus on doing the right things, and making the right decisions at the right time,” said Khan, adding, “T20 is all about enjoyment, and we have to keep enjoying, whether batting, bowling or fielding. The results will take care of themselves.”