Shai Hope says playing India in their backyard is a challenge

West Indies captain Shai Hope knows what awaits his side in India. Playing in those conditions is always a challenge, he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, and the series will show where West Indies actually stand.

Hope has made 741 runs in 14 ODIs here at 74.10, three of them centuries, but he says the team keeps falling short on consistency. Individual moments flare up, then disappear. He’s counting on young left-arm wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes to become a regular weapon, especially once the spinners take over on these pitches.

West Indies haven’t won an ODI series in India since 2002.