West Indies chase rare series win in India as international cricket returns to Chinnaswamy

Bengaluru has waited two years for international cricket to return to the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The occasion coincides with Dussehra celebrations in the city, and the fifth T20I between India and West Indies offers a fitting reason for another evening of festivity. The venue missed out on hosting both the Women’s ODI World Cup last year and the Men’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, and last hosted New Zealand in a Test in 2024, almost to this day. It returns to the international calendar with a series-decider, and the promise of a contest that has grown increasingly captivating.

The stakes may not extend to the next T20 World Cup, still two years away, but the series has served different purposes for the two sides. India, the defending champions, have used the contest to explore options around their established core. West Indies, meanwhile, have been searching for a settled combination and a template that can help them return to winning ways. Four games have brought them to a decider, with neither side having quite managed to impose itself for long enough.

The batting-friendly surfaces across the ODI and T20I legs have repeatedly put the bowlers under pressure. As Keemo Paul put it, if you don’t “execute” your plans well, you will “be executed.” And in line with that, West Indies’ attack has found ways back into games, bowling India out in each of the last two matches and recovering after being put on the back foot in the Powerplay in each of the last three. That ability to arrest the momentum from Powerplay could prove decisive again, particularly through the middle overs, where the series finale may be won or lost.

West Indies now have a chance to achieve something no visiting side has managed before: beat India in a T20I series-decider on Indian soil with the scores level heading into the final game. India have lost a level series-decider only three times away from home, and West Indies were the last team to pull it off, in the Caribbean in 2023. A win in Bengaluru would turn an otherwise exploratory tour into a series victory – and offer a timely reminder of what this side can do when its plans come together. As Daren Sammy pointed out, West Indies’ performances have an impact well beyond the cricket field, lifting the mood across the Caribbean. The series has been box-office television, and a win would give the visitors the perfect opportunity to bring the curtains down on an excellent tour of India.

When: India vs West Indies, 5th T20I, October 17, 19:00 IST

Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

What to expect: The Chinnaswamy last hosted T20Is in the 2023/24 season, with two games at opposite ends of the spectrum. India defended 160 against Australia in December 2023, while a month later they needed two Super Overs to hold off Afghanistan after scoring 212. A common factor in both games was the loss of early wickets in the first innings, with India recovering from 55/4 and 22/4. In IPL games over the last two seasons, fast bowlers have also found assistance from short-of-a-good-length deliveries early on, before conditions ease for batting. Chasing sides have won seven of the ten IPL games here since 2025 and expect the tour’s chasing trend to continue.

It rained on the day before the match, preventing teams from practising, and there is 70% forecast for rain at the scheduled match time on Saturday.

Team News:

India

Arshdeep Singh was struck on his left shoulder by Shamar Joseph in Hyderabad. India have added Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the squad, but a decision on his participation will be taken prior to the game based on his recovery.

Probable XI: Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav

West Indies

Shai Hope said everyone in the squad would probably get a game on this tour, and all 15 members of the original squad have featured in the first four T20Is. Shamar Joseph has been expensive, with his 11.3 overs costing 163 runs at 14.17 an over. His pace could be unsettling if the Chinnaswamy surface offers something to seamers; otherwise, Matthew Forde could return to the XI.

Probable XI: Shai Hope (C & WK), Jewel Andrew, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Keemo Paul, Shamar Springer, Roston Chase, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph/Matthew Forde

Did you know?

Defeat on Saturday would be India’s first back-to-back home T20I losses since June 2022. A win for the visitors would end India’s unbeaten run in home T20I series, which dates back to their loss to Australia in February 2019. It would also be West Indies’ first series win against India in India in any format since 2003.
India have never lost more than two matches in a home T20I series or a home World Cup campaign.
The winning captain has scored a hundred in six of the seven matches on this tour: Shubman Gill in the first two ODIs, Shreyas Iyer in Lucknow, and Shai Hope in all three of the visitors’ wins.
Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford have scored 57.5% of the runs made by West Indies batters in this series: 482 runs at a strike rate of 190, compared with 356 runs at 18.74 for the rest of the batters.
Teams captained by Shreyas Iyer have scored 200-plus totals 38 times, the most under any captain. His teams have also conceded 36 such totals.

What they said:

“In terms of the options that you have in the Powerplay to him [Shai Hope], the way that he scores, we would always like as a bowling unit to take the aggressive option. If we can bring the stumps in play, we want to try using our short ball to him and play along the lengths. If it’s not swinging, how can we create angles on the crease? But like I said, we want to keep on bowling our best ball to him at all times” – Morne Morkel on how to restrict Shai Hope, who was Player of the Match on each occasion when West Indies ended up winning on this tour.

“I think the clear plans that we’ve had, bowling to them, all the games, we’ve been able to pull it back after the Powerplay. With the field spread, the guys are a little bit more precise in their execution. That’s been the key for us staying in the series” – Daren Sammy on how West Indies bowlers have pulled the game back post the Powerplay.