'HOPE'FUL OF PIPPING VK, ROHIT

West Indies opener Shai Hope is quite "sure" that some of his teammates will have Thursday's IPL auction on their minds during the second ODI against India but for him it will be "secondary" to beating Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the 2019 top run-getters' list. Hope, a chip of the old bloc, carried his bat through with a century in the first game but one number nugget that could interest the uninitiated is the runs he scored in ODIs this year. Talk about whether IPL auction will be on his mind, Hope sounded dismissive. "I am sure it would be but I am sure that's secondary. We came here to play a series against India so whatever comes secondary is secondary," Hope said on the eve of the second game. "I am sure some of the guys will be looking forward to the auction but we have an India series to play and that's the main thing right now," he added. Hope is currently third in the ODI run-getters' list this year with 1225 runs behind Virat Kohli (1292 runs) and Rohit Sharma (1268 runs). Is there an added motivation to surpass the Indian superstars? "Thanks for heads up (on numbers). Obviously I have to ask the bowlers to do some damage as well," he smilingly replied. "As a batsman, you want to contribute as much as possible and if it helps the team win even more satisfying. Hopefully, we can remove them at the top and then get some big runs and get to the top of that run getters list," he said. But not for once during the Chennai chase did he feel like upping the ante to impress franchises? "It was about pacing my innings to the team's requirement. We only had to chase 280 and we wanted everyone to be on the same page," he explained.