Guwahati, Sep 30 — West Indies captain Shai Hope found solace in his side's consistent display with the bat, but admitted that their bowling lacked the required sharpness to defend a monumental 405 against a world-class Indian batting lineup in the second ODI here on Wednesday.
Despite posting 405/7, thanks to sensational centuries from Amir Jangoo (114), Hope (104) and John Campbell (101), their highest-ever total in ODI cricket, the West Indies suffered an eight-wicket defeat as Shubman Gill (223 not out) and Rohit Sharma (101) made light work of the target and reached it with 39 balls to spare.
"There were a lot of positives I can take from it, to be honest. I mean, you look at the batting side of things, we as a batting group, we've been putting up a lot of consistent competitive totals. So that's one tick that you can put.
“But obviously, when you come up against some of the greatest batters in the world, the margin for error is so slim, and it's going to be very difficult if you're going to give them a start like that. So still have to give credit where it's due.
“I think they played really well, but if we really want to be critical, probably could have been a little bit tighter with the ball and gave ourselves a better chance with 400 on the board," Hope said after the match ended.
Unlike the series opener where the West Indies lost key wickets at crucial junctures, Hope felt the batting group executed the tactical plan perfectly by preserving wickets for the death overs and blunting India's spin attack.
"Not as much. I thought we laid a foundation really well. It's something that we spoke about over the last couple of days, just about making sure we have some wickets in hand going into the back end of the innings.
“We were in on the side that their spinners are the main threat when it comes to these conditions. So, we were just about laying that foundation and then finding ways to continue and get that impetus going in the back end," noted the West Indies skipper.
Addressing the delay in introducing young leg-spinner Vitel Lawes into the attack during India's explosive chase, Hope explained that the move was dictated by both match situation and a desire to protect the debutant in tough Indian conditions.
"A bit of both. Situation-based. You don't really want to give him the hardest over to bowl, especially coming to India for the first time. But it's not saying I don't expect him to come and do a great job. It's just that you want to make him feel as comfortable as possible, especially when he's coming to play in these conditions.
“He's very young, but it's great to see that he came up and raised his hand. He bowled a really good spell, obviously a lot to learn, but I'm sure he's going to keep going strong," concluded Hope.