India vs West Indies 5th T20I Abandoned: Rain Washes Out Bengaluru Decider, Series Ends 2-2
By NajamSports Team | October 17, 2026
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru — where the covers, not the cricketers, decided the series. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
I followed this one ball by ball all evening — the long wait, the nine-over shootout, those 7.4 overs of actual cricket — and in the end the Bengaluru sky made the decision for everyone. After hours of rain delays, a nine-overs-a-side shootout, and just 7.4 overs of actual cricket, the fifth and final T20I between India and West Indies was abandoned — and one of the most entertaining bilateral series of the year finished 2-2, with nobody lifting the trophy outright.
What Happened?
The final match of the five-match T20I series was scheduled at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, October 17. Persistent rain and a wet outfield delayed the toss for hours, and officials eventually reduced the contest to nine overs per side.
The toss finally happened at 9 PM IST. West Indies captain Shai Hope won it and chose to bowl first — a call India's stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer admitted he would have made too. India raced to 118/5 in 7.4 overs before another spell of rain arrived and proved terminal. With no further play possible, the match was abandoned.
Brief scores: India 118/5 in 7.4 overs (Ishan Kishan 30, Naman Dhir 24*, Shreyas Iyer 22; Keemo Paul 2-34) vs West Indies — no result. Series drawn 2-2.
Latest Updates
Bhuvneshwar Kumar — named in India's XI after 1,425 days, but the rain never let him bowl. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar's wait goes on: The biggest headline of the day never even got its moment. Bhuvi was named in India's playing XI after 1,425 days away from the T20I side, replacing Mayank Yadav — and then the rain denied him a single ball. He remains part of India's squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series in New Zealand, so the comeback story is postponed, not cancelled.
- India's XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh. Shivam Dube came in for the ill Nitish Kumar Reddy.
- West Indies' XI: Shai Hope (w/c), Jewel Andrew, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Shamar Springer, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph — unchanged.
- The captains at the toss: Hope said his side's deep batting made the nine-over shootout suit them and the plan was simple — "start with the ball" and execute. Iyer praised Chinnaswamy's drainage, called for an aggressive approach, and backed his team to "seize the game" under pressure.
- A series that deserved a finish: This was no dull draw of a series. We saw Shreyas Iyer's 102* off 43 in the opener, West Indies' record 252/4 chase in the second game, and Shai Hope's hundred in the fourth — the cricket kept demanding a proper decider, and the weather kept refusing.
Why This News Matters
West Indies captain Shai Hope — his side leaves India with a shared series, a result few predicted.
(Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Here is the part that will be argued about for weeks: this is the first time since June 2022 that India have failed to WIN a home bilateral T20I series. Eleven consecutive home series victories — snapped, not by a better team on the night, but by the clouds over Bengaluru.
But — and this distinction matters — India's unbeaten run in home T20I series now stretches to 21 series. They haven't lost one since Australia beat them in February 2019. So the streak of not losing survives; the streak of winning does not. Statisticians will file this under "drawn," but for a team that had turned home T20I series into a procession, 2-2 against West Indies will sting in a way the raw numbers don't fully capture.
For West Indies, honestly, this is a triumph dressed as a washout. They arrived as underdogs, traded blows across four wildly entertaining games, and leave Indian soil with a share of the series. When Shai Hope's men needed big moments, they produced them — and they were arguably the better side in the games that finished.
Our Analysis
I've been thinking about what this 2-2 actually tells us, beyond the rain, and three things stand out.
First, the Bhuvi subplot is the real story of the night. 1,425 days — nearly four years — is an eternity in T20 cricket. The selectors finally brought him back, at the very ground where he has taken 26 wickets in 18 games and knows every gust of wind, and he didn't get to bowl a single delivery. There is something almost cruel about it. But here's my read: the recall itself is the news, not the washout. He's in the New Zealand T20I squad. The management clearly wants his experience around a young attack. Bengaluru was supposed to be the gentle re-entry; now the real test comes against the Black Caps.
Second, India's home dominance now has a visible crack. Not a collapse — a crack. Eleven straight home series wins ending in a rain-share is the kindest possible way for a streak to end, and India's players will know it. The 2026 T20 World Cup is in the rear-view mirror now, and this series — high scores, fragile chases, a 252-run concession — suggested a bowling attack in transition. Bhuvi's return is clearly part of the answer the selectors are reaching for.
Third, West Indies earned this. I'll say it plainly: a shared series in India, against an Indian side that doesn't lose at home, is the best West Indies result on Indian soil in years. Hope's hundred, the record chase, Rutherford's ball-striking — this wasn't luck across five games. If the rain had stayed away for two more hours, I genuinely couldn't have called the nine-over shootout. That's how far this West Indies side has come.
What next? India turn straight to the New Zealand T20I series with Bhuvi in the squad and questions over the bowling combination. West Indies leave with heads high and a blueprint for competing in Asian conditions. And Bengaluru? Bengaluru gets another entry in its long, soggy history of rain-ruined deciders.
Conclusion
Rain had the final word in Bengaluru: India 118/5 in 7.4 overs, match abandoned, series shared 2-2. India's 11-series home winning streak ends, the 21-series unbeaten run lives on, West Indies take a deserved share of the spoils, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 1,425-day wait for a comeback stretches a little longer — to New Zealand. For a full look at how this decider was set up, read our Bhuvi recall story and the 4th T20I preview; for the wildest game of the series, revisit West Indies' record chase in the 2nd T20I.
Sources
- Sportstar — "India and West Indies share series after persistent rain forces washout" (Oct 17, 2026)
- ABP Live — "India vs West Indies 5th T20I Ends In No Result After Rain Washes Out Bengaluru Decider" (Oct 17, 2026)
- Sportradar live match centre — IND vs WI 5th T20I, status: Abandoned
- Times Now / Mid-day / Indian Express — live blogs and match reports (Oct 17, 2026)