The West Indies have fallen to India yet again, despite a remarkable batting display in the second ODI. The fixture, played in Guwahati on September 30, was a must-win for the visitors after they were defeated by the hosts in the first ODI.
The Men in Maroon made 405, their record score, and it included other historic firsts.
For the first time in ODI history, the West Indies recorded three centuries in a single innings. John Campbell made the first, following his fifty in the last fixture. Campbell’s 101 runs off 68 deliveries was the fifth-fastest century by a West Indian and the fastest hundred by a West Indian against India. Campbell also scored the fastest half-century for the West Indies against India during his innings.
While run-scoring slowed slightly, as it normally does in the middle overs, Shai Hope and Amir Jangoo kept the scoreboard moving. Both batsmen also scored centuries.
Hope’s 104 off 94 balls saw him pass West Indian great Brian Lara’s tally of 19 to reach 20 ODI centuries, leaving him behind only Chris Gayle, who holds the record with 25. Top-scorer Jangoo’s 114 off 77 deliveries marked continued good form for the left-hander from Trinidad, who scored a half-century in the first fixture.
Facing a massive run chase, the in-form Indian batting setup started strongly in the powerplay overs and never looked back. Openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma both scored centuries in an opening stand worth 255. While Sharma holed out on 101, after going past 12,000 ODI runs, Gill piled on a double century, further cementing his number-one ICC ODI batter ranking. Gill’s double hundred came off 117 deliveries, making it the fastest ODI double century in history. He finished on 222 not out, the highest score by any captain.
India chased down the total within 44 overs, completing a record run chase and winning the series with a game to spare.
West Indies captain Shai Hope had this to say following the loss: “Lot of positives I can take from it, to be honest. Mainly from the batting side. As a batting group we have been consistently putting up competitive totals. But when you come up against some of the best batters, you can’t let them have a start like that. Have to give credit where it’s due, but if I had to be really critical, we had to be a little tighter with the ball.”
The Men in Maroon will look to end the One Day series on a high on Saturday, October 3.
