New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has compared Shai Hope’s dominance against India to Matthew Hayden’s impact during Australia’s tours of the country in the 2000s. He praised Hope for combining control, power and adaptability while leading the West Indies’ challenge across formats on the ongoing tour.

Hope has scored heavily against India despite facing high pace and quality spin. His ability to shift gears without relying solely on either power-hitting or touch play has made him a difficult batter to contain.

“The last time I can think of someone dominating India in India was when the Australian team came in the 2000s, Matthew Hayden used to take our bowlers to the cleaners, and Shai Hope is doing something very similar. His batting has been phenomenal, not only for the runs he has got, but also for how he has got them. You can’t call him a power player or a touch player. He has found the perfect balance, where he can use the pace, but when required, he can generate force and hit those big sixes,” Nayar told JioStar.

Nayar pointed out that Hope has not been restricted by the nature of the bowling attack. He has handled Mayank Yadav’s pace while also negotiating the variations of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, preventing India from building sustained pressure.

“He has been challenged with pace, with Mayank Yadav bowling upwards of 145, and he has handled it beautifully. He has played the guile of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel very well. He has basically taken the Indian bowling to the cleaners in every format on this tour of India. To get a century at a strike rate of 200 tells you what Shai Hope can do, keeping wickets, captaining the side, and still coming out again and again to win games for his team, that is very rare to see,” he added.

Hope’s influence has extended beyond his batting numbers. He has carried the additional responsibilities of captaincy and wicketkeeping while continuing to produce decisive performances for the West Indies.

The two sides will square off again in the decisive final T20I on Saturday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

--IANS

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