IND vs WI: In the world of cricket, everyone is a fan of former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's wisdom and style of finishing matches. But the echo of Dhoni's knowledge is not limited to India only, rather players from all over the world are winning matches with the Gurumantra given by him. Something similar was seen in the third ODI match played between India and West Indies at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. West Indies successfully achieved the mammoth target of 352 runs and registered their biggest run-chase in history against India. The real hero of this historic victory was Caribbean captain Shai Hope, who played an astonishing inning of 162 not out. After the match, Shai Hope revealed that Dhoni had a secret mantra behind making this seemingly impossible target possible.
Shai Hope recalls conversation with Dhoni
At the presentation ceremony after the third ODI, Shai Hope said with a smile, “I once had a very nice conversation with the great man MS Dhoni. He told me that when you are chasing the target, you always have more time at the crease than you think. This statement of Dhoni has stuck in my mind for so many years and is very useful to me in ODI cricket.
“I once had a great chat with the great man, MS Dhoni” π£οΈ Shai Hope
How that conversation changed things for the West Indies skipper.
Read the full piece to find out: https://t.co/xCIQQxn9q6pic.twitter.com/EIa7gSGTF0
β Cricinfo (@cricinfo) October 4, 2026
Hope broke the pressure of chasing 352 runs in Dhoni's style
While chasing the mountain-like score of 352 runs given by India, the West Indies captain batted 'cool' exactly in Dhoni's style. Shai Hope told that instead of getting nervous after seeing such a big target, he broke the entire chase into five phases of 10-10 overs each and set a small target of scoring 70 runs in each phase. Despite a finger injury and back pain, Hope remained at the crease till the end and by playing an unbeaten captaincy inning of 162 runs in 143 balls, the team won the match with 10 balls to spare.
Shai Hope: βA simple piece of advice from a very famous person MS Dhoni changed my ODI career completely.β
Thala Dhoni effect is real ππ₯ pic.twitter.com/N6M0iRJlSL
Zenith. (@msdcore7) October 3, 2026
Shai Hope rained like 'Mr. Finisher' in the death overs
At a time when the required run rate was continuously increasing during the West Indies innings, Shai Hope remembered the same mantra of Dhoni and took the game till the end. As soon as the death overs arrived, Hope changed his gear and attacked the Indian bowlers. From continuously scoring boundaries off Kuldeep Yadav in the 46th over to hitting a six off Naman Dheer in the last over, Hope finished the match in the same style for which MS Dhoni is known all over the world. By winning this match, West Indies saved itself from a 3-0 clean sweep in the series.
50 overs behind the stumps. 48.2 overs at the crease. One niggle battled through. One sensational 162 π―π₯
Shai Hope, take a bow! π pic.twitter.com/kwDcVMqcJO
β Cricinfo (@cricinfo) October 3, 2026
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