Windies’ man of the moment Shai Hope, who single-handedly took the Caribbeans over the line believes the key to success was to bat as deep as possible.
When wickets kept falling from one end, Windies opener Hope kept battling from the other end. Playing 144 deliveries, Hope remained at the crease till the end to secure a crucial series-leveling win for the side.
However, Hope also gave credit to Keemo Paul who supported him brilliantly right till the end. The duo put 71 runs together for the 6th wicket partnership.
In the post-match press conference, Hope said, “It was just to bat as deep as possible. We know Keemo has very good batting ability. I had full confidence in him. We just tried to rotate as best as possible. We knew the wicket was bit difficult to come in and strike from ball one so he played a very crucial hand here to go over the line.”
“It was a bit slow. When the bowlers took some pace off, it was a lot more difficult to get bat on ball, especially against Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman]. His off-cutters were quite difficult to get away in the crucial stage. The wicket wasn’t the best for strokeplay but it was much better than the last game,” he added.
With the wicket kept getting slow, Hope knew the only way to chase down the target was to bat deep as deep as possible and pace the innings.
“It was about pacing the innings. I knew that someone had to bat deep. I got the opportunity to start at the top of the order. I had all 50 overs. Just a bit disappointed for some of the guys in the middle to get out at that stage. The key was to bat as deep as possible and make sure that we win the game.”
Windies will take on Bangladesh in the 3rd and the final ODI at the Sylhet International Stadium on December 14.
