India vs West Indies 5th T20I in Bengaluru washed out, series ends 2-2

The deciding fifth Twenty20 International between India and West Indies at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, 17 October, ended without a result after rain returned during India’s innings. With no winner on the night, the five-match series finished level at 2-2 and the two sides shared the trophy.

Some social media posts and older articles circulating on Saturday claimed that West Indies had won the game by eight wickets on the back of runs from Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran. Those details actually describe the fifth T20I between the two teams in August 2023, which West Indies won to take that series 3-2. No such result occurred in Bengaluru this year.

Nine-over contest cut short

Persistent showers held up the start for close to three hours. When play finally got under way, officials had trimmed the match to nine overs a side, with a powerplay of 2.4 overs. West Indies captain Shai Hope called correctly at the toss and asked India to bat.

India went after the bowling from the first over and had reached 118 for five in 7.4 overs, a run rate above 15, when the rain came back shortly after Tilak Varma’s dismissal. The umpires eventually called the game off, and West Indies never started their reply. There was no reserve day for the fixture.

• India: 118/5 in 7.4 overs (match abandoned)
• Ishan Kishan: 30 off 10 balls, with three fours and two sixes
• Naman Dhir: 24 not out off six balls, including three sixes
• Shreyas Iyer: 22 off 14 balls; Sanju Samson: 16 off seven balls
• Shamar Springer: 2/17 in 1.4 overs; Keemo Paul: 2/34 in two overs

Springer removed both Samson and Tilak, while Paul accounted for Iyer. Reports differed slightly on Kishan’s innings: Asianet Newsable listed him as unbeaten, whereas Outlook India reported that Shamar Joseph dismissed him.

How the series unfolded

India won the matches in Lucknow and Indore, while West Indies claimed victories in Ranchi and Hyderabad, both while chasing, according to The Sunday Guardian. In the fourth game in Hyderabad, Hope scored a century and Paul took five wickets as the visitors won by 24 runs to draw level.

Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was part of India’s XI in Bengaluru, his first T20I appearance in roughly four years, coming in for Mayank Yadav, Outlook India reported.

Samson pointed to the tight calendar during the series. “To be very honest, with the way the schedule is structured these days, you don’t get much time to practice or prepare,” he said, as quoted by Outlook India.

Next stop: New Zealand

India now travel to New Zealand for a multi-format tour that opens with the first T20I in Christchurch on 22 October.

Sources: Outlook India, Asianet Newsable, The Sunday Guardian