WI VS ENG ODI

Right then, that's all from the series opener. What a start to the series we have had, with the West Indies drawing the first blood in this three-match ODI series in an emphatic fashion. On the other hand, England would have taken a lot of positives from this defeat and will hope to bounce back stronger as they aim to level the series. The second ODI will take place at the same venue on Wednesday, the 6th of December. The first ball will be bowled at 11.00 pm IST (5.30 pm GMT). As always, you can join us early for the build-up. Until then, take care and goodbye!

The captain of the West Indies, Shai Hope is the Player of the Match for his stellar ton. He says that he only plays to win for his team. He adds that he backs himself in any position and it was great to see the team chase down this target. He appreciates Romario Shepherd for his knock as well. On their bowling, he mentions that he thought bringing the spinner in could reward them with a few wickets and those are key moments in the game. He credits the young openers with setting the tone and mentions that they are both quality players

England's skipper, Jos Buttler says that it was a fantastic game of cricket and credits Hope and adds that there's a lot to discuss in the dressing room. He mentions that they batted brilliantly and scored a good amount of runs. About his form, he says that it will come back. He also appreciates Romario Shepherd for his power-hitting and Rehan Ahmed for his sharp bowling.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, it was England skipper Jos Buttler who won the flip of the coin and opted to put runs on the board. Will Jacks and Phil Salt came out all guns blazing to lay a solid foundation for the innings. Zak Crawley and Harry Brook then got together to stitch a 71-run stand to steady the ship. Crawley could not quite make the West Indies pay for the two dropped chances, but Brook took the inning forward. Despite the fall of wickets at the other end, he carried on his merry way before perishing on 71. Thanks to lower-order contributions from Sam Curran and Brydon Carse, England recovered from 239–7 and got to 325. Gudakesh Motie was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies, with figures of 2 for 49 from his 10 overs.

As for England, Sam Curran and Gus Atkinson got the new ball to swing, but neither of them was able to set the tone early by picking up wickets. Brought on as the first change, Brydon Carse, too, was not able to have any impact in his first spell. It was spin that did the trick for England as Rehan Ahmed and Liam Livingstone got rid of the openers to put their side back in pole position. In the middle phase, England kept striking at timely intervals and did not allow the West Indies to form big partnerships. Having got rid of Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford in successive overs, England had their tails up at the moment and with the required rate climbing up, the visitors had the upper hand on the game. However, as Romario Shepherd began to flex his muscles, the England bowlers lost their way and just were not able to nail their lines and lengths. Even though they were able to see the back of Romario Shepherd, it was nothing but a consolation for the visitors.

In pursuit of 326, it was an excellent start from the two West Indies openers, Alick Athanaze and Brandon King, with a 104-run stand. Athanaze looked assured on his way to his second ODI fifty, while King began shakily, but he too grew in confidence as the innings progressed. Like England, the departure of two openers put the West Indies in a spot of bother. Keacy Carty and Shimron Hetmyer could not convert their starts, leaving Hope with all to do. Coming in at number 7, Romario Shepherd took the mantle of providing impetus to the innings, with Hope happy to play the second fiddle. The lanky all-rounder produced a quickfire 49-run cameo off 28 balls and took the pressure off Hope. The duo stitched an 89-run stand for the sixth wicket which swung the momentum completely in West Indies's favour. Even though Shepherd could not finish things off, Hope changed his gears in a flash and sealed the deal with 3 sixes off the last 4 balls. This was Hope's 16th ODI century but the fastest of his career off 82 balls.

Shai 'Hope' springs eternal for the West Indies in this run-fest classic! With 326 never being chased at this venue, the West Indies needed something special to get over the line, and it was their skipper Shai Hope who stepped up to get the job done. West Indies pull off their highest-ever chase on home soil to go 1-0 up in the series. As for England, they held the upper hand for most parts of the game but just could not hold their nerves in crunch moments and had no answers to the brilliance of Shai Hope.

SIX! JUST WOW! Shai Hope has given their home fans a match to remember. Sam Curran has bowled really poorly and that is ridiculous hitting from the skipper, Hope. He has provided a ray of 'Hope' for the fans. He muscled this short ball towards deep mid-wicket for a maximum to deal the finishing blow. West Indies win from the clutches of losing and it is because of Shai Hope.

SIX! 16th ODI TON FOR Shai Hope! Sam Curran goes full and on off. Shai Hope swings hard and connects well. The ball is found beyond the mid-wicket fence for another maximum.

A wide yorker outside off. Shai Hope swings and misses. A critical dot ball.

SIX! CLOBBERED! Sam Curran goes full and straight on the stumps. Shai Hope stands back and muscles this over long on for a glorious maximum. That has put some pressure on Sam Curran he has already leaked a lot of runs but his captain has confidence in him.

A low full toss outside off. Alzarri Joseph has lofted it towards deep cover and run one.

It will be Sam Curran to bowl the penultimate over. He has conceded 79 runs from his 9 overs so far.

Slow and on length over middle. Shai Hope pushes it to the right of the bowler and Sam Curran prevents a single. A very valuable dot ball.

Banged in short over off. Shai Hope pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a couple of quick runs.

Delivered short and slow. Shai Hope wanted to cut it but it didn't bounce high.