India, West Indies brace for another run-fest in Indore

"406? Cool," posted Shubman Gill on Instagram after India pulled off a record chase in the second ODI in Guwahati. Nine days later, Shai Hope responded with "250?

Cool" after West Indies chased down 250 in Ranchi to level the T20I series. Beyond the social media banter, the two chases have underlined the batting-friendly conditions that have characterised the series, with bowlers struggling to contain the scoring on flat surfaces. Another high-scoring contest could be in store in Indore.

Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 102 powered India's eight-wicket win in Lucknow, before Hope's unbeaten century headlined West Indies' successful chase in Ranchi. The visitors will take confidence from chasing down 250 despite losing three wickets in the first six overs, while India will look to address their struggles in defending big totals.

Coach Gautam Gambhir has called for a better balance between bat and ball but stressed that his side must find ways to contain opposition batting even in difficult bowling conditions. Fielding is another area of concern for both sides, who have among the lowest catching efficiencies among full-member teams in T20Is since the start of 2025.

A missed chance against Sherfane Rutherford in Ranchi proved costly, with the left-hander going on to score 84 off 37 balls. India have dropped the most catches (79), have the joint second most overthrows (10), the second most missed stumpings (4), the second most missed run-outs (95) and also have misfielded most times (168) among all the full-member teams since 2025, highlighting the need for greater discipline in the field.

When : India vs West Indies, 3rd T20I - Sunday, October 11 at 7:00 PM IST Where : Holkar Stadium, Indore What to expect : Four T20Is have been played in Indore, with 200 being the average first-innings score. India have won three out of the four matches played here, the last of which came against Afghanistan in January 2024.

Back in 2017, India posted 260, with Rohit Sharma scoring a 43-ball 118. December 5, 2024 was the last time a competitive men's T20 match was played at this venue, with Gujarat scoring 251 against Karnataka in the SMAT. Temperatures are expected to be in the late 20s around the match time, with no forecast for rain.

Team news: India : The hosts are likely to stick to the same combination despite all their bowlers going in excess of 11 an over in the second T20I. They have an option to bring in Nitish Reddy in place of Shivam Dube but it remains to be seen if India opt for that change. Probable XI: India Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube/Nitish Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Yadav West Indies : The visitors may also go in with the same eleven that took the field in Ranchi.

Probable XI: Shai Hope (c & wk), Kamil Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Springer, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph Did you know? - Against full-member teams in 2026, with Jasprit Bumrah in the eleven, India have picked up 111 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 22.18 and have an economy of 8.77.

In 13 matches without him, India have managed only 73 wickets at an average of 29.32 while the economy rate rises to 9.37 - Sherfane Rutherford needs one more half-century to equal Chris Gayle's record (4) for the most consecutive fifty-plus scores for West Indies in T20Is What they said: "You don't shrug off any defeat.

If you want to keep improving, you don't want to put anything under the carpet. We are a world champion team, so we want to keep improving. And obviously these are tough conditions to bowl.

We know that flat wickets with the dew, obviously it's tough. But we need to figure out the way...to try and stop the opposition" - Gautam Gambhir , India head coach.