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Rain hangs over Bengaluru decider as India wait on Arshdeep call
Showers washed out India's last practice session before the fifth T20I against West Indies. With the series at 2-2, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is in line for a first T20I in four years.
Key points
- As of 5:45 pm IST there was no toss and no word on Arshdeep Singh, with a 7 pm start scheduled.
- Rain forced India to cancel their net session before the decider, and more showers are forecast for the evening.
- Bowling coach Morne Morkel said Arshdeep was definitely not ruled out after the blow to his shoulder.
India and West Indies were waiting on the weather and on Arshdeep Singh’s shoulder on Saturday evening, a little over an hour before the scheduled 7 pm start of the fifth and final T20I at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. With the series level at 2-2, the winner takes it.
As of 5:45 pm IST the toss had not taken place and the team management had not said whether Arshdeep would play. Rain has fallen on Bengaluru for the past couple of days, and the forecast for the evening was for a few more spells.
A washed-out last practice
The showers have already cost India. Their net session before the match was called off because of rain, leaving a young bowling group without a final run-out on the ground where the series will be settled.
The weather has also raised the possibility of some moisture under the surface, which would be welcome news for bowlers who have been hammered for most of the series. The two sides have hit 98 sixes between them in four matches.
Bengaluru crowds will remember the last time a series came down to a fifth T20I here. In June 2022, the decider against South Africa was abandoned because of rain and the series was shared 2-2.
Arshdeep ‘not ruled out’
Arshdeep was struck on the shoulder by a short ball from Shamar Joseph in the final over of India’s chase in Hyderabad on Wednesday and retired hurt. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel was cautiously upbeat at Friday’s pre-match press conference.
“Recovering well after the blow he took on the shoulder,” Morkel said of the left-armer, adding that he was “definitely not ruled out for tomorrow, still available.” The decision, he said, would be taken “tomorrow at some stage.”
Whatever the verdict, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to play. The 36-year-old was added to the squad on Friday and was close at hand, training at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. His last T20I for India was the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England, when he went for 25 runs in two overs and did not bowl again. He took 28 wickets in 16 innings for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026, at an average of 17.89, and India may give him the new ball. Morkel said he was “very excited” to have him back.
Morkel also backed Prince Yadav, who took 1 for 36 in Hyderabad. “One thing about Prince for me is, obviously, the way he plays his state cricket, domestic cricket,” he said. “He was very quickly identified as a person who can bowl those death yorkers. But what I like about him a lot is his mindset, the calmness that he brings with the ball in tight situations.”
West Indies arrive with momentum
West Indies levelled the series with a 24-run win in Hyderabad, piling up 247 for 3 behind Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 off 50 balls and an unbeaten 49 from Sherfane Rutherford. India made 223 for 9 in reply, with Sanju Samson scoring 56 and Keemo Paul taking five wickets. Roston Chase has been the leading wicket-taker of the series.
What comes next
There is little time to recover whatever happens. India’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand begins in Christchurch on 22 October, and Arshdeep is in that squad as well, a reason for the selectors to tread carefully with him tonight.