India and West Indies level at 1-1 as third T20I begins at Indore, no rain expected
The five-match series is level at 1-1 as both sides look to take the lead on a pitch known to favour batsmen, with no rain forecast.
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India and West Indies meet at the Holkar Stadium in Indore today, Sunday, October 11, for the third match of their five-match T20 series. The game starts at 7 pm, with the series tied at 1-1 and both sides looking to take the lead.
India won the opening match by 8 wickets. West Indies replied in Ranchi, where they chased down a huge target of 250 in 18.3 overs for the loss of only 4 wickets. The Ranchi game produced 501 runs in all, and a similar contest is being talked about for Indore.
Over the years, the two teams have played 33 T20 Internationals. India have won 21 of them, West Indies 11, and one ended without a result. Both captains have scored centuries in this series so far.
The weather should not trouble the players. There is no chance of rain, and the sky is expected to stay clear with very little cloud. The temperature is forecast to range between a high of 34 degrees Celsius and a low of 17 degrees Celsius. Dew is very likely to settle in the evening, which could make bowling harder in the second innings. A slight chance of rain had been forecast for the previous two games as well, but play was not affected.
The pitch is flat, the boundaries are short and the ball comes onto the bat nicely, so batters are expected to enjoy themselves. Fast bowlers are not expected to get much early help. Only four T20 Internationals have been played here, and two were won by the side batting first, with an average of 9.85 runs per over. A team winning the toss may well choose to bat first and put up a big total.
The ground has a rich batting history. India beat Sri Lanka here by 88 runs in December 2017 and again by 7 wickets in January 2020. South Africa won by 49 runs in October 2022, and India defeated Afghanistan by 6 wickets in January 2024. Rohit Sharma and Rilee Rossouw have hit T20I hundreds at this ground, and Hashim Amla, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shreyas Iyer have also made centuries in the format here. Virender Sehwag struck a double century in an ODI at the venue and is remembered for a historic knock against West Indies in 2011.
For India, the probable team has Shreyas Iyer leading a line-up that opens with Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, followed by Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Naman Dhir. Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Yadav complete it. Sanju Samson is also among the batters to watch.
West Indies are likely to go in under Shai Hope, with Kamil Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell in the top order and Sherfane Rutherford behind them. Their bowling options include Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Springer and Shamar Joseph.
