Despite the mauling the team got at the hands of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on Sunday, there were a few positives that emerged for the West Indies.
The best performance of the night came from Shimron Hetmyer, who recorded his third century in 13 ODI appearances. With a sparkling 78-ball 106, Hetmyer pulled his team past the 300-run mark.
Hetmyer first came into the limelight when he led West Indies to the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup title, following which he earned a place in the senior side.
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Hetmyer showed that he belonged on the big stage when he scored a match-winning 125 against Bangladesh a few months ago. In Guwahati, the southpaw was once again all class.
He picked the lengths early and met the ball with a clean swing of the bat. Stylistically, Hetmyer resembles Keith Arthurton (especially so with the maroon floppy hat on) and Brian Lara – a mighty fine duo to model your game on.
The Guyana cricketer made up for a poor run in the preceding Test series, where poor shot selection cost him dearly. Captain Jason Holder was happy that Hetmyer managed to turn the corner. “It was an outstanding knock. He had a pretty lean patch in the Tests, falling to some innocuous dismissals, so it was good to see him get a score here,” Holder said.
The timing of his dismissal, however, did not please Holder. Hetmyer got out in the 39th over, attempting a sweep off Ravindra Jadeja. Holder explained that had he batted for a few more overs, West Indies could have posted a mammoth total. Hetmyer, still only 21, has plenty of time to learn the art of building innings.
Debutante Oshane Thomas set the pulse racing with a genuinely quick opening spell. The burly, tall Thomas consistently beat the batsmen for pace and pinned them to the crease. Thomas has the makings of a potent strike bowler, in the mould of former Australia international Shaun Tait.
“I’m really happy with the way Oshane bowled. He’s quicker than you think. We wanted him to come in and bowl as hard as he could to try and get wickets. I tried to use him in short bursts, for him to be most impactful,” Holder said.
It is not all doom and gloom in Caribbean cricket.
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