The India and West Indies T20I series will be decided on Saturday, 17 October 2026 in Bengaluru. Both teams have won two matches each, so the fifth game is a straight shootout for the trophy. The match is a night fixture and begins at 6:30 PM local time.

Weather could play a part. Rain is forecast for Bengaluru, and there is a real chance of stoppages that may be long enough to affect the contest. On the field, the ground usually offers short boundaries and good bounce, so batters are expected to enjoy the surface once more. Dew is also likely to appear later in the evening, which was missing from the previous two games and would make life harder for bowlers defending a total.

There is plenty on the line. West Indies have not won a series in India in any format since 2002. A victory would also make them the first visiting team to take a T20I series in India since February 2019. India, on the other hand, would like to finish the tour with a series win after being pushed far more than anyone expected. West Indies are ranked seventh in T20Is and tenth in ODIs, yet they have matched the hosts in this series.

The road to this decider has been wild. India went into the tour with attention on the Asian Games, and the visitors took advantage once the T20I series started. West Indies reached a target of 250 in Ranchi to square the contest. India then defended a total for the first time on the tour, but West Indies replied by defending a score of their own in Hyderabad. India are missing Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for this series, and their bowlers have struggled to hold back the flow of runs.

The scoring figures are unusual. The series has been scored at 11.49 runs per over, which is faster than any series of more than three matches ever played. A total of 98 sixes have been struck so far. The record for a bilateral series between two full member nations is 120, so it may be broken on Saturday.

Shai Hope is the player who has defined the contest. The West Indies captain has hit about 260 runs in four T20Is, and he has overtaken Chris Gayle as the West Indies batter with the most T20I centuries. Across the whole tour, he has made four centuries, which is more than any visiting batter has managed on a bilateral tour of India. India have won all four matches in which they dismissed him and lost all three matches in which he remained not out, so his wicket looks like the key to the result.

India's best answer has been Sanju Samson. He has two fifties in the series without a century, and one of them came inside the first three overs in Hyderabad, against Roston Chase. That matters because Chase has been the bowler most likely to restrict Abhishek Sharma. He has removed both Abhishek and Ishan Kishan, India's feared left handed batters, twice each, and he has conceded less than 1.5 runs per ball to them even though he bowls in the powerplay.

India are expected to stay with the team from Hyderabad. Kuldeep Yadav missed the Indore game because of the small boundaries, and the same reasoning applies in Bengaluru unless the pitch is dry and offers turn. West Indies may also keep faith in their line up, with Jewel Andrew opening and Romario Shepherd back after injury. Pace bowler Shamar Joseph has been expensive at 14.17 runs per over, but the visitors have no other option with his speed.

India probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.

West Indies probable XI: Shai Hope (C & wk), Jewel Andrew, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Shamar Springer, Keemo Paul, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie.

Recent form in completed T20Is, with the latest match first: India lost, won, lost, won, won.
West Indies won, lost, won, lost, won.