Pollard lauds Windies duo Chase & Hope

Kieron Pollard lauded Roston Chase and Shai Hope after their efforts with the bat helped West Indies to a seven-wicket ODI win over Afghanistan in Lucknow.

Chase made his highest score in the format with a fine 94 that included 11 boundaries, with Hope having laid the foundation for a successful chase with an unbeaten 77.

The pair's 163-run stand did most of the work as the Windies overhauled Afghanistan's 194 all out with 21 balls to spare, the hosts having collapsed from 126-2.

And Pollard was delighted to see Chase and Hope lead the way, helping to assuage some of the captain's concerns over his side's batting performances in the 50-over format.

A 163 partnership between Hope & Chase to finish a solid bowling effort! Good 7 wicket win boys! #MenInMaroon 194 Chase 94 (115) Hope 77* (133) 197/4 Chase 31/2 (10 ov) Shepherd 32/2 (6.3 ov)#AFGvWI Live Scorecard - https://t.co/5KvvcnLNVl pic.twitter.com/zyjQuMOBXU

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) November 6, 2019

"Losing early wickets and not batting 50 overs is something that has been haunting us for a long time," he said, while also reserving praise for bowlers Romario Shepherd (2-31) and Hayden Walsh (1-33)

"Two guys showed the way – Hope and Chase. Both of them are class batsmen, kudos to them for batting well and getting us a victory.

"We've been talking about how we want to play cricket. Express ourselves, who better than Jason Holder, who continues to prove he wants to be the number one in this format.

"Then Shepherd and Hayden Walsh were superb. We want to play every game with the same intensity."

The second match takes place at the same venue on Monday.