Guwahati: Centuries from John Campbell, Shai Hope and Amir Jangoo powered the West Indies to their first 400-plus total in the 50-over format, a mammoth 405 for seven against India in the second ODI here Wednesday.
After being sent into bat, Campbell set the tone with a 65-ball hundred as the West Indies’ batters ruthlessly exposed India’s inexperienced pace attack.
A self-confessed admirer of Chris Gayle, Campbell channelled the inner Universe Boss perfectly, flaying the Indian attack with brute power and freedom in his 101 off 68 balls (9×4, 5×6).
Hope and Jangoo then kept the West Indies in complete control through the middle and late overs, maintaining a scoring rate around eight an over.
Hope was the anchor and accelerator in one, building his innings carefully before stepping on the gas to make full use of the reprieve he got when he was dropped on 27 by Virat Kohli, with the ball bursting through his hands at short midwicket.
The skipper brought up a superb 104 off 94 balls, with eight fours and three sixes, keeping the tempo high rather than allowing India to claw their way back.
Jangoo complemented Hope perfectly, mixing calculated stroke-play with aggression and reached his second ODI century off just 69 balls, finishing on 114 with 13 fours and three sixes as the Windies brought up three centuries in an ODI for the first time.
The total surpassed their previous best of 389 against England in 2019.
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who is on the Asian Games duty, and Mohammed Siraj, who is still sitting out, India continue to expose youngsters ahead of the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
But the pace attack threw more questions than answers.
With proven campaigners such as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami still being overlooked, India’s search for options beyond the established names hardly looked convincing.
Auqib Nabi, who became the third cricketer from the Valley to represent India, endured a forgettable outing, conceding 84 runs in his 8.5 overs.
Operating at military-medium pace, Nabi struggled to contain the West Indies on a flat surface.
Gurnoor Brar, used as the second-change bowler, was the best among the three returning 2/96, while Prasidh Krishna finished with 1/45 in five overs.
There was further concern for India as batting all-rounder Naman Dhir, who also bowls off-spin, twisted his ankle and had to leave the field in the 36th over after bowling 6.1 overs.
The only bright spots were the two spinners as Kuldeep Yadav claimed 2/65 to get into the 200-wicket club in ODIs, while Ravindra Jadeja who finished with 2/75.
