India and West Indies will battle for the T20I series trophy today, Saturday, 17 October 2026, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Each side has won two games, so the fifth match is a winner takes all contest. Most listings show the action beginning around 7:00 PM IST, which is about 6:30 PM in Pakistan, although a few pages mention 6:30 PM IST. Fans should check the official toss time before tuning in.
How the contest got here
India took the first step in the series, but the visitors answered in Ranchi with the biggest successful chase in their T20I history. India scored 249 for 5, and West Indies reached 252 for 4 with more than a over to spare, thanks to an unbeaten 102 from captain Shai Hope off just 45 balls. India won in Indore to go 2-1 up, yet West Indies came back strongly in Hyderabad. They made 247 for 3 and dismissed India for 223 in 19.4 overs, taking the match by 24 runs. Keemo Paul took five wickets, and Hope struck another century.
These games followed an ODI series won by India 2-1, which produced ten centuries, the most ever in a three match bilateral series. If West Indies win today, they will take a T20I series win in India, something no visiting side has done since February 2019.
The Shai Hope factor
No batter has troubled India more on this tour than Hope. He has three T20I hundreds, the most by any West Indian, and two of them came in this series. Across all formats on the tour, he has four centuries. He is also tied with Chris Gayle on 16 scores of fifty or more in T20Is, and he is one of only five batters to score two hundreds in a single bilateral T20I series. Sherfane Rutherford has backed him up with 56 in Lucknow and 84 in Ranchi. India know that an early wicket for Shai Hope could change the game.
India's response with the bat
Sanju Samson has been India's most exciting batter. He scored 82 off 41 balls in Ranchi and 56 off 23 balls in Hyderabad, helping India reach their fastest team fifty in T20I history in only three overs. Tilak Varma has added stability with scores of 43, 28 and an unbeaten 44 against West Indies. Shreyas Iyer is the captain, having taken over the T20I leadership from Suryakumar Yadav.
Arshdeep Singh injury and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The main concern for India is the fitness of Arshdeep Singh, who left the field in Hyderabad after a ball from Shamar Joseph struck his bowling shoulder. To protect the bowling department, India have added Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the squad. The seamer has not played an international match since November 2022, but he was already picked for the T20I series in New Zealand that starts on 22 October. He took 45 wickets across two IPL seasons for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which led to his return. Many fans are also asking about the chances of teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored 776 runs in a recent IPL season, but nothing has been confirmed.
Pitch and weather
The Chinnaswamy Stadium has a reputation for flat pitches, short boundaries and good bounce, which usually means big totals. Dew could also arrive in the evening and make it harder for bowlers defending a score. Rain has been mentioned as a possible threat, so keep an eye on the weather updates through the day.
Where to watch IND vs WI live
In India, the match is on the Star Sports Network on television and on JioHotstar for streaming, which needs a subscription. Viewers in Pakistan can watch on Tapmad. In the West Indies, it is shown on ESPN Caribbean and Disney Plus. In the United States and Canada, fans can watch on Willow TV, and SuperSport has the rights in southern Africa.
What is at stake
For West Indies, victory would be a landmark result and a big boost for a team that has had to fight through qualifiers for recent World Cups. For India, a win would end a tough home season on a positive note before heading to New Zealand. With totals above 245 appearing several times in the series, the toss and the first six overs could decide the match.
Stay with Cricrox for the toss, live updates and the full match report.
