PARIS: West Indies opener Shai Hope struck his eleventh one-day international century to lead his team to a seven-wicket win over the Netherlands in Amstelveen on Tuesday, in a game reduced to 45 overs. Although the Dutch only made 240 for seven, the target was adjusted under the Duckworth Lewis method to 247 which the West Indies passed with 11 balls to spare. Hope, who made 119 not out, and fellow opener Shamarh Brooks quickly got to grips with the damp conditions that allowed the Dutch seamers to move the ball around, adding 120 for the first wicket. Brooks rattled out 60 from 67 balls before Logan van Beek dismissed him with a superb return catch. Van Beek removed Nkrumah Bonner leg before first ball and Aryan Dutt bowled Nicholas Pooran for seven to leave the West Indies in slightly dangerous territory at 133 for three.
But Hope kept his head and found a solid ally in Brandon King, sharing an unbroken fourth wicket partnership of 116. Hope reached his 100 off 113 balls and ended with 119 from 130 balls which included 12 fours and two sixes. Once Hope had reached his ton, King upped the ante at the other end, slugging van Beek for a six and a four off successive balls. The 27-year-old Jamaican went on to post his first ODI fifty and clubbed Ryan Klein for the winning boundary to end on 58 from 51 balls. Vikramjit Singh and Max O’Dowd had earlier given the Dutch a solid start as they added 60 in even time for the first wicket after being put in to bat.
Singh was particularly impressive, clubbing six fours and two sixes in his 47 from 45 balls. But when he fell leg before on review to Akeal Hosein the innings lost its early momentum. O’Dowd (39), Bas de Leede (17) and Scott Edwards (14) scored a single boundary each as the West Indies turned the screw. Teja Nidamanuru, an allrounder who has featured for Auckland in the past, got them back on track, marking his ODI debut with a feisty 58 from 51 balls which took the Netherlands to the respectable total of 240 for seven from their 45 overs. The result puts the West Indies 1-0 up in the three-match series, with the second ODI taking place in Amstelveen on Thursday.