Guwahati centurion, Shimron Hetmyer reveals his cricketing idol

Windies posted a mammoth total of 322 runs on the board batting first in Guwahati and scared many to take the game away from India. They managed to do so courtesy of a sensational knock from Shimron Hetmyer who slammed his third ODI century. The flamboyant left-hander was all about hitting the boundaries and connected almost every delivery when he attempted to go berserk. However, Hetmyer has now revealed his idol and he is none other than Brian Lara, one of the greatest ever the game has ever witnessed.

Hetmyer scored 106 runs off just 78 deliveries with six fours and as many maximums. He gave a headache to the Indian skipper while he was in the middle and had he stayed unbeaten until the end, the visitors would’ve surely posted a huge score and the result could’ve been different as well.

I am a natural stroke-player

Shimron Hetmyer, while speaking to the media during the training session, went on to say that stroke-making comes naturally to him and also said that he looked up to Lara while watching the game during the early part of his career. “I did look up to Brian Lara when I used to watch cricket, but most of it (shots) comes naturally to me. I am a natural stroke-player and try to play each ball on merit,” he said.

The young left-hander also added that the discussion with some of the former Windies players helped him regain his touch after a disastrous Test series. “I have spoken to a few legends in the past, they are quite fun actually, easy going — Lance Gibbs, Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara, Some of the other stars, too. Knowing that they are backing you makes me feel good.

“They tell me to be ‘just be yourself’, they give suggestions like play each ball on merit and all. They try to help in every way possible, make it as easy as possible for us and encouraging us to keep pushing,” Hetmyer further said. The second ODI will be played on Wednesday and the visitors will once again be hopeful of a special knock from him in Visakhapatnam.

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