'Thinking about his 100 and not team' - Fans give mixed reactions on Shai Hope's century at Queen's Park Oval

West Indies’ opening batter Shai Hope scored his 13th ODI century during the first innings of the second ODI against India in Trinidad on Sunday, 24th of July. The elegant opening batter reached the three-figure mark with a magnificent six on his 100th appearance in the 50-over format, which made his innings extra special, and in the process became the 10th batter to score a century in his 100th ODI.

Earlier, West Indian skipper Nicholas Pooran rectified his mistake of bowling first in the opening match of the three-match ODI series and decided to bat first in the second ODI after winning the toss. The decision proved to be a masterstroke as the hosts posted a great total on the board with Hope pitching in with 115 runs.

The West Indian batters were quite severe on Indian pacer Avesh Khan, who was making his ODI debut in the match. The hosts were in a bit of trouble after losing Shamarh Brooks and Brandon King in quick succession, but skipper Nicholas Pooran and his deputy Shai Hope consolidated things with a 117-run stand for the fourth wicket.

The Barbados-born cricketer is often criticized for his slow scoring rate in white-ball cricket, but he has an exceptional record in ODIs, averaging almost 50 in 100 matches for the WI. He holds the key for the hosts as they finished with 311 runs after losing six wickets.

Mohammed Siraj came to the rescue for the Indian team in the first ODI

India managed to win the series opener thrillingly as Dhawan’s bowlers held their nerve in the death overs to survive a late scare. The Indian batters got off to a flying start in the first ODI and looked set to post a total in excess of 350, but the hosts pulled things back nicely in the middle overs as the bowlers chipped away at the wickets at regular intervals to restrict the visitors on a par score of 308/7 in their 50 overs.

The hosts almost got over the line thanks to the belligerence of power-hitting all-rounder Romario Shepherd but fell just short in the final over against a barrage of yorkers from Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Shai Hope’s century