India vs West Indies: Rain Delays Series-Deciding 5th T20I in Bengaluru

Series level after four high-scoring matches

The five-match T20I series between India and West Indies stood at 2-2 going into the decider in Bengaluru on October 17, 2026. India won the first match in Lucknow on October 6 by 8 wickets, chasing down West Indies' 171 with 172 for 2 in 14.4 overs. West Indies leveled the series in Ranchi on October 9, overhauling India's 249 for 5 with 252 for 4 in 18.3 overs — their highest successful T20I run chase.

India regained the lead in Indore on October 11, restricting West Indies to 209 for 7 after posting 223, a 14-run win built on Abhishek Sharma's 69 off 30 balls and Arshdeep Singh's 3 for 44. West Indies forced a decider in Hyderabad on October 14, posting 247 for 3 and bowling India out for 223 in 19.3 overs, a 24-run victory.

Rain disrupts the decider

Play was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. local time at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, but the toss was pushed back as rain fell over Bengaluru through the evening, with ground staff keeping the covers on, according to live coverage from ESPN. Match officials indicated overs would start being shaved off the contest from 7:30 p.m., with a cut-off of 9:41 p.m. for any result to stand, ESPN reported.

Forecasts diverged in the hours before the game. The India Meteorological Department put the chance of rain or thundershowers that evening at 30 to 50 percent with a thunderstorm warning, according to khelnow.com, while AccuWeather's hour-by-hour outlook, cited by Yahoo Sports, showed precipitation risk climbing from 11 percent at noon to 68-71 percent by late afternoon and roughly 64 percent at the scheduled 7 p.m. start. If the match is abandoned entirely, the series trophy would be shared, since the two sides are level at 2-2, khelnow.com noted.

Shai Hope's record tour

West Indies captain and wicketkeeper Shai Hope has been the series' standout batter. He scored an unbeaten 102 off 45 balls in the second T20I in Ranchi and another unbeaten 102 in the fourth match in Hyderabad, with the sixes and fours in the Hyderabad innings amounting to what Al Jazeera said was the largest such tally by a West Indies batter in a T20 international. Hope had already made an unbeaten 162 in the final match of the preceding ODI series, which Al Jazeera reported set up West Indies' highest ODI run chase, and he has collected three Player of the Match awards across the tour.

What's at stake in Bengaluru

India enter the decider as the reigning T20 World Cup holders, a status Al Jazeera's preview noted while framing the match as the finale of a series it described as among the most entertaining white-ball tours in recent years. For West Indies, victory would secure a bilateral T20I series win on Indian soil, with the tourists having pushed the hosts to a fifth and final game through the series.

• Predicted India XI (Al Jazeera): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh
• Predicted West Indies XI (Al Jazeera): Shai Hope (capt/wk), Jewel Andrew, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Shamar Springer, Keemo Paul, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie

Both lineups were reported as predicted ahead of the toss and were subject to change once teams were confirmed. Shreyas Iyer captained India through the series, while Shai Hope led West Indies, according to Wikipedia's record of the tour.