- High-scoring series reaches crucial moment in rainy Bangalore. The weather could make the series finale with India difficult, with the West Indies tied at 2-2. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiling after Pat Cummins’ dismissal. The three that count: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiles after Pat Cummins’ dismissal, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, August 8 The 2023 West Indies, who did not even take part in the last ODI World Cup and are still struggling to reach the next one, arrived in India about three weeks ago.
- A time when India took the Asian Games more seriously and no other team had sent their best team.
- The West Indies should forgive us if, after two games, we think: “Now you know why they need to play qualifiers”, “Now you know why India can prioritize the Asian Games”.
High-scoring series reaches crucial moment in rainy Bangalore. The weather could make the series finale with India difficult, with the West Indies tied at 2-2. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiling after Pat Cummins’ dismissal. The three that count: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiles after Pat Cummins’ dismissal, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, August 8 The 2023 West Indies, who did not even take part in the last ODI World Cup and are still struggling to reach the next one, arrived in India about three weeks ago.
A time when India took the Asian Games more seriously and no other team had sent their best team. The West Indies should forgive us if, after two games, we think: “Now you know why they need to play qualifiers”, “Now you know why India can prioritize the Asian Games”. During the third ODI, Shai Hope, fresh from the heartache of scoring 400 and losing, bowled a successful chase of 352 with such ease that we thought, “Wait, what if they had won the toss when the series was still alive?” The T20Is have strengthened both sides without the players having to keep India on their toes.
West Indies leveled the series by chasing 250 in Ranchi, a reminder of what could have been had India not had Jasprit Bumrah in the World Cup semi-final earlier this year. One would have thought that India were still the superior unit when they successfully defended for the first time during this tour, but the West Indies did even better when they did so in Hyderabad. Now we have India, the biggest T20 team not long ago, vulnerable without Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
And we have West Indies, No. 7th in the ICC T20I Rankings and No.1. 10 in ODIs, a win returning from a tour of India with the same distinction.
Equally important is the first win by a visiting team in India in the T20I series since February 2019. This could be a series we’ll be talking about for years to come. And we have the poor bowlers on both sides trying to hold on to what little help they can get.
No series or tournament with more than three games has ever seen points scored faster than 11.49 in this unexpected thriller. And all this will hpen in Bengaluru where we have small boundaries, good bounce and a high probability of dew, which fortunately was not present in the last two games. All bets are now off.
Darren Sammy talks about the keys to success against India and the positives for WI from what has been a very competitive series so far. India: LWLWW (last five T20Is completed, most recent first) West Indies: WLWLW It was the tour of hope: 278 ODIs from 248 balls, 261 T20Is from 135 balls, overtaking Brian Lara as West Indies’ second ODI centurion and Chris Gayle is the highest in T20Is. There were two types of games on this tour: those where India dismissed Hope and others where they did not. They won all four in which they took Hope’s wicket, they lost all three in which Hope remained unbeaten.
No visiting batsman has scored five centuries on a bilateral tour of India. Shai Hope celebrates his second T20I century of the series, India vs West Indies, 4th T20I, Hyderabad, October 14, 2026. Sanju Samson did not score a hundred but he seemed to score two half-centuries with ease. His success is tactically important for India.
They may not have won the game in Hyderabad, but when Samson scored a half-century in the third over, he absolutely dominated the only bowler who threatens to thwart Abhishek Sharma: Roston Chase. The off-spinner caught India’s two feared left-handed batters, Abhishek and Ishan Kishan, twice each and got within 1.5 runs despite heavy bowling in the powerplay. Arshdeep suffered a blow to his bowling shoulder after a delivery from Shamar Joseph in the final act of the fourth T20I in Hyderabad.
It remains to be seen whether he will be fit to play in Bengaluru, but *India have added Bhuvneshwar Kumar – who last played an international match in November 2022 and was due to return for the New Zealand tour later this month – to their squad to represent Arshdeep. Meanwhile, the reason Kuldeep Yadav was left behind in Indore remains the same in Bangalore: small boundaries. Unless we get some surprisingly dry terrain with a curve, it will probably stay on the bench.
India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Shreyas Iyer (ct), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Prince Yadav, 10 Mayank Yadav, 11 Arshdeep Singh/Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The West Indies might have found their best combination with Jewel Andrew replacing Kamil Pooran at the top of the order and Romario Shepherd returning from injury. Despite an economy rate of 14.17 for Shamar Joseph, the West Indies are likely to keep him as they no longer have games at that pace in their squad.
West Indies (probable): 1 Shai Hope (ct & wk), 2 Jewel Andrew, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Rovman Powell, 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Romario Shepherd, 7 Roston Chase, 8 Shamar Springer, 9 Keemo Paul, 10 Shamar Joseph, 11 Gudakesh Motie. We know from the IPL that Bengaluru is another batting paradise unless something goes seriously wrong with the pitch preparation. However, the weather doesn’t look good.
There could be disruons to rain, which could potentially be significant. 98 sixes were hit in this series. The record for most in a bilateral series involving two full members of the ICC is 120.
The overall record between Austria and Germany is 132. Since 2002, the West Indies have not beaten India in series, regardless of format. *GMT 0900 Preview has been updated with the news that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added to the Indian squad. Shreyas Iyer watches Shamar Springer’s bat after hitting an unbeaten 11-ball 35, India vs West Indies, 3rd T20I, Indore, October 11, 2026. Abhinav Mukund talks about the possible changes India could make for the series decider against West Indies Bengaluru Oh, off-stump cartwheels!
80mph ball outside the offside, it swings with one touch and Samson goes down the wrong line. Hits the inside edge and hits the top. Springer’s impressive series of successes continues. Paul strikes back!
The crowd is silent as the batsman Abhishek falls in the first over. It has a good length around middle and leg, Abhishek tries to hit it through mid-wicket again but he hits it high with the bat and hits the ring fielder at mid-wicket. Shamar Joseph catches it over his head and it’s a great result for the West Indies!
Kishan’s performance is coming to an end, but he has already done a lot of damage here! Back Chop and Kishan try to make it hpen. He makes a mistake because he can’t get the ball out of the middle and the ball goes to left center where Powell completes the ball. Iyer can’t try his luck for long!
On a length outside off, Iyer looks to swing it over mid-wicket. He makes a mistake and it goes straight to mid-wicket and Shamar Joseph holds on. Train! Springer reaches for the yorker and is successful.
Tilak steps on the stumps and tries to smash them on the ground. Goes away from the inside edge and onto the stumps. Shreyas Iyer and Shai Hope pose with the trophy after the shared series, India vs West Indies, 5th T20I, Bengaluru, October 17, 2026. Paul hits back! The crowd is silent as the batsman Abhishek falls in the first over.
It has a good length around middle and leg, Abhishek tries to hit it through mid-wicket again but he hits it high with the bat and hits the ring fielder at mid-wicket. Shamar Joseph catches it over his head and it’s a great result for the West Indies! Iyer cannot enjoy his hpiness for long!
On a length outside off, Iyer looks to swing it over mid-wicket. A mistake hpens and it goes straight to mid-wicket and Shamar Joseph saves Kishan’s cameo which is nearing the end but he has already done a lot of damage here! Back Chop and Kishan try to make it hpen.
He messes up the ball because he can’t get it out of the middle, and it hits to left-center, where Powell completes the catch. Shreyas Iyer and Shai Hope pose with the trophy after the shared series, India vs West Indies, 5th T20I, Bengaluru, October 17, 2026 Oh, the stump cartwheels! 80mph ball outside the offside, it swings with one touch and Samson goes down the wrong line. Hits the inside edge and hits the top.
Springer’s impressive streak continues Dragged! Springer reaches for the yorker and is successful. Tilak steps on the stumps and tries to smash them on the ground.
Moves away from the inside edge and onto the stumps, Paul hits back! The crowd is silent as the batsman Abhishek falls in the first over. It has a good length around middle and leg, Abhishek tries to hit it through mid-wicket again but he hits it high with the bat and hits the ring fielder at mid-wicket.
Shamar Joseph catches it over his head and it’s a great result for the West Indies! Kishan’s performance is coming to an end, but he has already done a lot of damage here! Back Chop and Kishan try to make it hpen.
He makes a mistake because he can’t get the ball out of the middle and the ball goes to left center where Powell completes the ball. Oh, the tree stump cartwheels! 80mph ball outside the offside, it swings with one touch and Samson goes down the wrong line. Hits the inside edge and hits the top.
Springer’s impressive series of successes continues. Iyer cannot enjoy his hpiness for long! On a length outside off, Iyer looks to swing it over mid-wicket. He makes a mistake and it goes straight to mid-wicket and Shamar Joseph holds on. Train!
Springer reaches for the yorker and is successful. Tilak steps on the stumps and tries to smash them on the ground. Shreyas Iyer and Shai Hope pose with the trophy after the shared series, India vs West Indies, 5th T20I, Bangalore, October 17, 2026. India’s 2-2 result followed a T20 World Cup semi-final and a home T20I series win against Sri Lanka. Daren Sammy oversees the West Indies training session, West Indies v Zimbabwe, Men. T20 World Cup, Mumbai, February 22, 2026 “We had the mindset that we wanted to play aggressive cricket and make sure we were at our best,” says Shreyas Iyer. Shreyas Iyer and Shai Hope pose with the trophy after the shared series, India vs West Indies, 5th T20I, Bangalore, October 17, 2026 Keemo Paul celebrates a wicket with Shai Hope, India vs West Indies, 4th T20I, Hyderabad, October 14, 2026 IND vs WI, 5th T20I – Success is progress for Sammy as West Indies impress “Despite challenges”. The head coach believes his team challenged India well and “ticked boxes that keep us in the conversation”. October 14, 2026 India’s T20I vice-ctain talks about his switch to bat at number 5 and the positives for the team in this series. Abhinav Mukund believes high scores in T20 tournaments are due to batsmen being able to hit sixes more often. Abhinav Mukund talks about the need for senior members to occupy pace bowling slots so that there is less pressure on newbies. Shreyas Iyer looks at Shamar Springer’s bat after hitting an unbeaten 11-ball 35, India vs West Indies, 3rd T20I, Indore, October 11, 2026 Abhinav Mukund talks about the possible changes India could make for the series decider against the West Indies in Bangalore. Hagley Oval attracted a large crowd, England vs Scotland, World Cup 2015, Group A, Christchurch, February 23, 2015 IND vs WI 2026/27, IND vs WI 5th T20I Match Preview – High scoring series reaches thrilling decider in rainy Bengaluru IND vs WI 2026/27 India vs West Indies Match Preview: Weather could complicate series finale as India and West Indies are tied 2-2
