West Indies captain Shai Hope led from the front as his unbeaten century helped West Indies clinch a thriller in the first ODI against England at Antigua.

Hope sealed a dramatic victory for West Indies and scored unbeaten 109 off 83 balls was his 16th ODI century and the fastest of his career. Hope crunched three sixes in the 49th over bowled by Sam Curran to help West Indies side chase down England’s total of 325 with seven deliveries to spare.

Following the win, the West Indies captain credited the chat with former India captain MS Dhoni.

“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 in the post-match press conference.

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

Hope took over as West Indies’ full-time ODI captain earlier this year and while he oversaw an unsuccessful attempt at World Cup qualification in Zimbabwe. 

It was also the West Indies’ second highest successful men’s ODI run chase in their history, just five runs short than the 331 for 5 they managed when defeating Ireland in Malahide in 2019.

England scored an impressive 325 all out in 50 overs at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.