Shai Hope’s 162* powers West Indies to their highest ODI chase and first win in India in seven years

West Indies chased 352 against India at New Chandigarh on 3 October 2026, their highest successful chase in ODI history. Captain Shai Hope scored 162 not out off 143 balls, the highest innings by a West Indies batter in a successful ODI run chase. It was West Indies’ first ODI victory in India in seven years.

The chase was built on a partnership that lasted almost until the end. Hope and Amir Jangoo came together after John Campbell fell in the second over, and by the time Jangoo was dismissed for 67, the required rate had dropped below six. What followed was clinical rather than dramatic: West Indies reached 352 for 5 in 48.2 overs, winning by five wickets with ten balls to spare.

The match

India	351 for 7 (50 overs)
West Indies	352 for 5 (48.2 overs)
Result	West Indies won by 5 wickets
Venue	PCA Stadium, New Chandigarh
Date	3 October 2026

India won the toss and batted first, a decision that looked justified when they posted 351 for 7. It was the fourth-highest total conceded by West Indies in an ODI they went on to win. The equation required West Indies to score at 7.03 an over from the first ball, and they got there with deliveries to spare.

What Hope’s innings required

The captain had already kept wicket for all 50 overs of India’s innings in conditions the match report described as humid and draining. He then walked out to open after Jewel Andrew injured a finger while fielding. That context matters: a keeper-batter playing the innings of his career after spending three and a half hours in the field is not starting fresh.

	Figure
Runs	162 not out
Balls	143
Fours	17
Sixes	3
Strike rate	113.29
Time at crease	~2h 50m

The strike rate of 113 is not what headlines usually celebrate. But it was precisely what the chase needed. West Indies did not require a 180-strike-rate assault; they required someone to stay in for the duration and find boundaries at a sustainable rate. Hope did exactly that, hitting 17 fours by finding gaps rather than clearing ropes, and letting the required rate drop through accumulation.

The 162 is his second-highest ODI score, behind only the 170 he made against Bangladesh in 2022. It is also his 20th ODI century, moving him past Brian Lara (19) into second place on West Indies’ all-time list. Only Chris Gayle, with 25, has more. And the combination of roles makes the innings historically rare: Hope became the first wicketkeeper-captain to score 150 or more in a successful ODI run chase.

Where 352 sits in West Indies history

Before this match, West Indies’ highest successful ODI chase was 331 for 5 against Ireland at Dublin in May 2019. They had never chased more than 335 successfully in any ODI.

Chase	Opponent	Year
352/5	India (Chandigarh)	2026
331/5	Ireland (Dublin)	2019
322/3	South Africa (Johannesburg)	2015
313/6	England (Grenada)	2019

The jump from 331 to 352 is a gap of 21 runs, which does not sound significant until you consider that no West Indies side had bridged even half of it in the seven years since the Ireland match. Large chases require everything to align—a set batter who stays in, support that rotates strike, and a bowling attack that tires at the right moment. West Indies found all three on the same afternoon.

India’s innings: why 351 was not enough

India’s total was built on two anchors: Rohit Sharma’s 92 off 85 balls at the top, and KL Rahul’s unbeaten 129 off 87 at the finish.

Batter	Runs	Balls	SR
Rohit Sharma	92	85	108.24
Ruturaj Gaikwad	57	69	82.61
KL Rahul	129*	87	148.28
Others	56	47	119.15

The problem was the middle. Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck in the 19th over, and the 47 balls between Rohit’s dismissal and Rahul’s acceleration produced only 73 runs. That stretch kept India below 360, and 360 might have been the difference. Against a batter of Hope’s calibre, defending 351 required either early wickets or sustained pressure. India got neither.

Rahul’s 129 not out was his 11th ODI century and the highest score by a batter on the losing side in an ODI this year. His strike rate of 148 over the final 15 overs was exactly what India needed from the finish, but the chase was too well-paced for the total to hold.

Seven years without a win

The last time West Indies won an ODI in India before this match was December 15, 2019, at Chennai. Shimron Hetmyer scored 139 and Hope made 102 not out to chase 288 with eight wickets in hand. Since then, India had won every bilateral ODI meeting between the two sides at home—a streak of 13 matches across four series.

West Indies ODIs in India since 2019
Matches played	14
West Indies wins	1 (3 Oct 2026)
India wins	13
Previous win	15 Dec 2019, Chennai

The drought matters because it underlines what this chase achieved. Winning in India is difficult for every visiting side; West Indies had found it impossible for the better part of a decade. Doing it while chasing 352 makes the result harder to dismiss as a one-off.

Series context

India still won the three-match series 2–1, having taken the first two ODIs decisively. Shubman Gill was named Player of the Series for his 334 runs across three innings, including his 223 not out in the second ODI—the highest individual score in an ODI run chase. Gill’s performance meant the series was already decided before this match began.

For West Indies, the consolation win carries more than pride. Hope finishes the series with 294 runs at an average of 147.00, having scored centuries in both the second and third matches. Amir Jangoo, who scored 67 in the chase and 114 in the second ODI, ends the tour as a credible middle-order option after a debut series that delivered far more than expected.

What this chase does not prove

It does not prove West Indies have solved their ODI problems. Their record over the past decade is littered with individual brilliance that did not translate into sustained competitiveness, and one chase—however spectacular—does not reverse that pattern. Hope has now carried West Indies to four ODI wins in 2026; nobody else has carried them to more than one.

It does not prove India’s bowling is in crisis. Jayden Seales took three wickets, the pitch offered little assistance after the first hour, and the fourth bowler, Anshul Kamboj, was playing his first ODI. A side conceding 352 to lose by five wickets has had a bad day, not a structural failure.

And it does not prove Hope is underrated. His 20 ODI centuries place him among the most prolific century-scorers in the format’s history, and his average above 50 after 157 matches is better than almost every contemporary. If anything, this innings confirmed what the numbers already said: he is one of the best ODI batters in the world, playing for a side that rarely gives him support.

What it does prove

It proves a chase can be built on tempo rather than explosiveness. Hope’s strike rate never exceeded 120 for any sustained period, but the chase was never behind the required rate. He rotated, he found boundaries through timing, and he let the fielding restrictions and tired bowlers do the rest. The method is unfashionable in an era that prizes six-hitting, but it worked.

It also proves the captain is still the side’s most reliable batter. Hope has now scored more ODI runs in 2026 than any other West Indian, by a margin of more than 400. The reliance is unsustainable, but as long as it produces innings like this, it remains the reason West Indies can compete on any given day.

The record chase is West Indies’ statement that they belong in conversations about ODI cricket, even if the conversation usually forgets them. Hope’s 162 not out is the kind of innings that should not be possible after keeping wicket in Indian humidity. It happened anyway, and it delivered a result that had not happened in seven years.