‘250? Cool.’: Shai Hope takes swipe at Shubman Gill’s Instagram caption after Ranchi T20I masterclass

Shai Hope is in tremendous form on the ongoing India tour, having already smashed three white-ball hundreds so far. He was on song during the 2nd T20I in Ranchi, helping his team complete the second-highest run chase in the format's history (250) with his unbeaten 102. Shortly after, Hope posted, ‘250? Cool.’, taking a swipe at a similar Instagram caption posted by India’s ODI captain Shubman Gill after scoring 223* in the second One-Dayer, helping India complete their highest ODI run chase.

Hope also scored a hundred in Guwahati, with West Indies breaching the 400-run mark (405) for the first time in ODIs. Gill and Rohit hit respective centuries to guide India home with eight wickets and 32 balls remaining. India also clinched the ODI series with that win, only for the West Indies to turn the tables in the final One-Dayer and complete their highest successful ODI run chase, with Hope scoring an unbeaten 162.

Also read| IND vs WI: West Indies set record for highest successful run chase in T20Is against India

Following his marathon innings, Gill took to his Instagram handle, posting a photo of himself with the caption, ‘406? Cool.’

11 days later, Hope’s magnificent 102* saw West Indies complete a first 250-plus T20I run chase on Indian soil.

Crediting the self-belief within the team and his partnerships with Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford, Hope said, “It's going to be a tough chase. But when you chase here in India, you always give yourself a chance. You always think you're in the game, regardless of what score is on the board. But five for two was always going to be challenging.”

“When we got that partnership there, myself and Rovman, we just got some more impetus in the innings, and then obviously Sherfane came and did what he did, played really well with the bat, and just gave us that spark that we needed to get over the line today,” Hope explained on what pushed the visitors.

“Yes, the thing about cricket, I really believe that we need to bat a lot better in partnerships. It's something that we tend to lack every now and again, but sometimes you just got to sit back, as you say, and watch (your partner) play shots. In that situation there, as long as we kept going at the rate to keep up with the game, then I didn't need to take any unnecessary risk. I thought we were going really nicely, so just about calculating that chase as best we can,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the T20I series is tied at 1-1, with Indore to host the third T20I on Sunday (Oct 11).