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Rain washes out Bengaluru decider as India and West Indies share T20I series 2-2
India raced to 118 for 5 in 7.4 overs of a nine-over game, with Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir swinging hard, before the rain returned and the match was called off without West Indies batting.
Key points
- The fifth T20I was abandoned without a result, so the five-match series ends level at 2-2.
- India made 118 for 5 in 7.4 overs after a two-hour delay cut the game to nine overs a side.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar played his first T20I in nearly four years but did not get to bowl.
Bengaluru’s rain had the last word on Saturday night. The fifth and deciding T20I between India and West Indies at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was abandoned without a result, and the five-match series ends level at 2-2, the trophy shared.
There was just enough cricket to tease the crowd. After a delay of more than two hours, the match was cut to nine overs a side and India raced to 118 for 5 in 7.4 overs. Then the showers returned, the covers came back on, and West Indies never got to start their chase. There is no reserve day.
A long wait, then a sprint
Heavy rain fell on the city from about 6 pm, and the toss was put back. The officials began losing overs from 7:45 pm. Drizzle kept the covers on until the groundstaff started removing them at about 8:35 pm, and a nine-over game was set for 9:15 pm, with a powerplay of 2.4 overs.
West Indies captain Shai Hope won the toss at 9:01 pm and chose to bowl. India made two changes from Hyderabad, bringing in Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Mayank Yadav and Shivam Dube for Nitish Kumar Reddy. Arshdeep Singh, who was hit on the shoulder on Wednesday, was named in the XI.
India batted as though every ball might be the last. Abhishek Sharma fell early, but Ishan Kishan made 30 off 10 balls with three fours and two sixes, one of them a scoop off Romario Shepherd that was reported to have cleared the stadium roof. Sanju Samson hit 16 off seven balls and captain Shreyas Iyer 22 off 14.
Naman Dhir provided the late fireworks, finishing unbeaten on 24 off six balls. Shamar Springer took 2 for 17 in 1.4 overs, Keemo Paul 2 for 34 in two overs and Shamar Joseph 1 for 18 in his only over.
Rain returns
Soon after Springer dismissed Tilak Varma, the rain came back. West Indies were left needing 85 from five overs under the revised calculation, but the weather did not ease in time for even that shortened chase, and the match was called off at about 10:15 pm.
For Bhuvneshwar, called up on Friday as cover for Arshdeep, it was a first T20I for India in nearly four years. He took the field but did not get to bowl.
“We have just one day of batting practice,” Samson had said before the match, a reminder of how little the weather had allowed either side in Bengaluru this week.
Honours even
The result fits a series that swung back and forth and was dominated by the bat. West Indies levelled it at 2-2 with a 24-run win in Hyderabad on Wednesday, built on Hope’s unbeaten 102 off 50 balls.
It is the second time in four years that a T20I series decider at the Chinnaswamy has been lost to rain. In June 2022 the fifth match against South Africa was abandoned and that series was also shared 2-2.
India have little time to dwell on it. Their five-match T20I series in New Zealand starts in Christchurch on 22 October.