India successfully broke the dominance of chasing teams in the ongoing series, defending a target of 223 to defeat West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I at Indore. The victory marks the first time a side has won batting first throughout this tour, handing India a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Despite the Holkar Stadium’s compact square boundaries of just 63 meters and West Indies captain Shai Hope’s confidence at the toss—where he remarked, “We all know what I’m going to do” before choosing to bowl—the heavy dew that impacted earlier matches failed to materialize. The bowlers were not simply there to be hit, for once on this tour. With targets of 406 and 250 among them, and the Holkar Stadium’s square boundaries measured just 63 metres. “We all know what I’m going to do,” WI captain Shai Hope quipped at the toss, choosing to bowl again, but the dew that had soaked Ranchi never really arrived in Indore, the chasing side had won all three ODIs and both T20Is so far. It was a quiet start by India, who went boundary-less off the bat for the first two overs, put in to bat once again. Three balls later in the same over, Shreyas Iyer missed a slog and was lbw for 1.
India’s batting charge was led by Abhishek Sharma, who hammered a 30-ball 69. Alongside Ishan Kishan, who contributed 37, the pair constructed a 108-run second-wicket stand in just 40 deliveries—the fastest century partnership for India in T20I history at a rate of 16.2 runs per over. Although a mid-innings collapse saw India slip from a strong position to 135/5, a late flurry led by Prince Yadav’s final-over cameos helped them reach 223. And India finished the Powerplay at 87/1, abhishek reached an 18-ball fifty in a 21-run sixth over. A ball after being hit for six, he had the big-hitting Kishan stumped with a flatter, wider one, in the ninth over.
The Indian bowling attack, disciplined and accurate, effectively stifled the West Indian chase. Arshdeep Singh spearheaded the effort with figures of 3 for 44, claiming the crucial breakthrough of captain Shai Hope early on. While Shimron Hetmyer scored 43 and Kamil Pooran added 42, the visitors struggled to keep pace with the mounting required run rate. Pooran’s dismissal in the 11th over, caught by Arshdeep off Naman Dhir, proved to be a decisive moment in the match. Everything about the evening pointed towards another successful chase.
The pressure intensified as Sherfane Rutherford and Quentin Sampson attempted a recovery with a 46-run partnership, but the target remained elusive. Arshdeep returned in the closing stages to remove Keemo Paul and Rutherford, effectively settling the contest. Despite a late burst of three sixes from Shamar Springer off Axar Patel in the final over, West Indies finished at 209/7, falling 14 runs short of the target.
The match witnessed several unusual incidents, including a chaotic run-out involving Tilak Varma and Axar Patel, who prematurely celebrated reaching the boundary ropes before Pooran returned the ball to the stumps. Additionally, Naman Dhir finished with 2 for 39, providing vital support to the pace unit. For West Indies, Roston Chase took 2-38, Shamar Springer claimed 2-50, and Shamar Joseph picked up 2-54 in a high-scoring encounter that finally shifted the momentum away from the chasing side. Mistiming a 150kph full ball from Shamar Joseph to mid-wicket, before Hope took Joseph off and India pounced on everyone from then on, sanju Samson fell for 3.
