Hope reveals inspirational chat with Dhoni after guiding West Indies to thrilling win over England

Former Indian captain Dhoni is known for his calm demeanour and match-winning abilities, as he always looks to take the chase deep when the target is massive.

Shai Hope celebrates after hitting the winning runs and helping the West Indies win a thriller against England during the first ODI.  | Photo Credit: Getty Images

MS Dhoni’s advice to “take the game deep” inspired Shai Hope to lead his side to a thrilling victory against England in the opening ODI, the West Indies skipper revealed.

Former Indian captain Dhoni is known for his calm demeanour and match-winning abilities, as he always looks to take the chase deep when the target is massive.

After the West Indies was reduced to 213/5 in pursuit of 326, Hope, a wicketkeeper batter just like Dhoni, recalled a chat with one of the best finishers in the game.

“A very, very famous person, MS Dhoni -- we had a chat a while ago, and he was saying, ‘You always have a lot more time than you think’,” Hope said at the post-match presentation.

“That’s one thing that has stuck with me throughout the years I’ve been playing ODI cricket,” Hope added.

West Indies faced the uphill task of scoring 106 in the last 10 overs. But along side Romario Shephard (48; 28b), Hope smashed an unbeaten 109 off 83 balls, that included four hits to the fence and seven maximums, to take eke out a memorable win here on Sunday.

The 30-year-old struck three sixes in four balls off Sam Curran in the penultimate over of the chase to give West Indies a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

In the process, he also recorded his 16th ODI and fastest century of his career.