October 12: India beat West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20 International at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Sent in to bat after West Indies won the toss, India were bowled out for 223 off the last ball of their 20 overs, led by Abhishek Sharma’s 69 off 30 balls. West Indies finished on 209 for 7 despite an unbeaten 35 off 11 balls from Shamar Springer at the end, with Arshdeep Singh taking 3 for 44, NewsX and Outlook India reported.
Key highlights
- Abhishek Sharma reached his fifty in 18 balls, which The Sunday Guardian reported as the fastest by an Indian against West Indies in men’s T20Is, beating the previous mark of 21 balls. He hit six fours and five sixes, and the innings took him past 2,000 T20I runs, India.com reported.
- Abhishek and Ishan Kishan (37 off 18) added 108 for the second wicket, and India were 87 for 1 after the six-over powerplay, NewsX reported.
- India then lost their last six wickets for 99 runs, including two run-outs, Tilak Varma (28) and Axar Patel (20).
- West Indies kept up with the rate through Shimron Hetmyer (43 off 26) and Kamil Pooran (42 off 27), but Arshdeep removed captain Shai Hope early and Sherfane Rutherford with a yorker, and Naman Dhir took two wickets.
- The fourth match is in Hyderabad on Wednesday, October 14, and the last in Bengaluru on October 17, The Sunday Guardian reported.
The scorecard in brief
| India: 223 all out (20 overs) | Runs | Balls | How out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abhishek Sharma | 69 | 30 | c & b Shamar Springer |
| Ishan Kishan | 37 | 18 | stumped off Roston Chase |
| Tilak Varma | 28 | 16 | run out |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 21 | 14 | c Hope b Keemo Paul |
| Axar Patel | 20 | 14 | run out |
| Prince Yadav | 13* | 6 | not out |
| Arshdeep Singh | 11 | – | lbw b Springer |
| Naman Dhir | 10 | 5 | c Springer b Gudakesh Motie |
| Sanju Samson | 3 | 6 | c Pooran b Shamar Joseph |
| Shreyas Iyer (captain) | 1 | – | dismissed by Roston Chase (mode not reported) |
| Mayank Yadav | 0 | – | b Joseph (last ball) |
| West Indies: 209 for 7 (20 overs) | Runs | Balls | How out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shimron Hetmyer | 43 | 26 | b Naman Dhir |
| Kamil Pooran | 42 | 27 | c Arshdeep b Dhir |
| Shamar Springer | 35* | 11 | not out |
| Sherfane Rutherford | 32 | 20 | b Arshdeep |
| Quentin Sampson | 21 | 15 | c Tilak b Nitish |
| Keemo Paul | 10 | – | c Tilak b Arshdeep |
| Shai Hope (captain) | 5 | – | b Arshdeep |
| Rovman Powell | 5 | 7 | c Kishan b Axar |
| Roston Chase | 5* | – | not out |
Arshdeep finished with 3 for 44 and Axar Patel with 1 for 33. For West Indies, Springer and Shamar Joseph took two wickets each, and Gudakesh Motie’s wicket was his 50th in T20Is, according to Outlook India’s live coverage. Roston Chase removed Kishan and Iyer in quick succession, NewsX reported. A full official scorecard was not available to us at the time of writing, so a few balls-faced figures are missing.
How India’s innings turned
The table below is our own calculation from the fall of wickets and score updates reported by Outlook India and NewsX. Reports differ by one run on the score at the 10-over mark (124 or 125), so the figures are approximate.
| Phase | Runs | Wickets | Run rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overs 1–6 (powerplay) | 87 | 1 | 14.5 an over |
| Overs 7–10 | about 38 | 3 | about 9.5 an over |
| Overs 11–20 | about 98 | 6 | about 9.8 an over |
| Total | 223 | 10 | 11.15 an over |
India scored at 14.5 an over in the powerplay and at under 10 an over after it. The collapse of three wickets for nine runs around the 10-over mark, and two run-outs later, slowed them sharply on a ground with short boundaries. West Indies needed 11.2 an over and were never far behind, but the loss of Hope, Rutherford and both set batters, Pooran and Hetmyer, to Arshdeep and Dhir left too much for Springer in the last over.
The series so far
| Match | Date and venue | Result | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I | October 6, Lucknow | India won by 8 wickets, with 32 balls to spare | Shreyas Iyer, maiden T20I century, 102 not out |
| 2nd T20I | October 9, Ranchi | West Indies won by 6 wickets, chasing 250 with 9 balls to spare | Shai Hope, 102 not out off 45 balls; Sherfane Rutherford, 84 |
| 3rd T20I | October 11, Indore | India won by 14 runs | Abhishek Sharma, 69 off 30; Arshdeep Singh, 3 for 44 |
| 4th T20I | October 14, Hyderabad | To be played | |
| 5th T20I | October 17, Bengaluru | To be played |
By our count, the last two matches produced 933 runs: 501 in Ranchi, where West Indies’ 252 for 4 was the second-highest successful chase in men’s T20 history according to Gulf News, and 432 in Indore.
What to watch
- Whether India’s middle and lower order can bat through 20 overs after losing six wickets for 99 in Indore.
- West Indies’ top order, led by Hope, which scored freely in Ranchi but fell early on Sunday.
- Arshdeep Singh’s death bowling, which decided Sunday’s game.
- A West Indies win in Hyderabad on Wednesday would level the series at 2-2 and set up a decider in Bengaluru.
What it means
India are one win away from the series with two matches to play, but Sunday’s game showed both sides of a young, aggressive line-up. Abhishek Sharma’s start gave India a total that should have been out of reach; the collapse that followed nearly gave the game back. West Indies have now shown in Ranchi and Indore that they can chase or keep up with scores above 200 in Indian conditions, so the last two matches are likely to be decided by who handles the final overs better.
Sources
- NewsX: IND vs WI 3rd T20I: Arshdeep Singh’s decisive strike and Abhishek Sharma’s fifty power India past West Indies in Indore
- Outlook India: India vs West Indies highlights, 3rd T20I: India hold their nerve to clinch thrilling 14-run victory
- The Sunday Guardian: Abhishek Sharma’s blazing 69 powers Men in Blue to 2-1 series lead
- India.com: Abhishek Sharma unlocks big accomplishment against West Indies in Indore
- ESPNcricinfo: Arshdeep and Abhishek power India to 2-1 lead (3rd T20I match report)
- ESPNcricinfo: Shreyas Iyer’s maiden ton hands India crushing win (1st T20I)
- Gulf News: Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford stun India with 250-run T20 chase
- Yahoo Sports: IND vs WI 3rd T20I 2026 scorecard, result and highlights
The Sports Desk covers cricket, the Asian Games and Indian and international sport. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
