🏏West Indies tour of India 2026: 1st ODI - on 27/09/26 @2:00 PM IST🏏

🏏West Indies tour of India 2026: 1st ODI - Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on 27/09/2026 at 2:00 PM IST🏏

For two teams, ten spots apart in the ODI rankings, the three-match series offers vastly different perspectives and purposes. India have the liberty to test their backups, chop and change a bit, and still give their ODI showstoppers much-needed game time leading up to the World Cup.

For West Indies, World Cup qualification is now out of bounds; they must take the Qualifier route five months from now. And the India tour with its own historical baggage: in the last two decades, West Indies haven’t once won a bilateral series against them. The gap stretches to 24 years, when considering their last series win in India.

Ranked tenth in the ICC rankings, West Indies also come into the series with the backdrop of sweeping corrective measures back home. Head coach Daren Sammy, though, exuded optimism, calling it a great opportunity for his side to “challenge and measures ourselves as to where we are in ODIs”. A day later, Shai Hope echoed the same, calling it a real test to face India in their backyard.

The attention can never escape Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, still the two biggest crowd-pullers around. Two days ahead of the first ODI, they had long batting sessions in side-by-side nets. The very next day, Kohli reminded fans of the finiteness of it all, saying he’s driven by the motivation of playing his last World Cup, a year away. As for Rohit, the speculative overdrive on his future from a few months ago now feels like a forgotten story.

For those invested in history, the very first ODI at this ground was played in 2018 between these two teams. The only other ODI here came five years later, when Kohli smashed 166 and Gill hit 116, handing India their biggest victory by runs (317).

In the spotlight: Virat Kohli and Alzarri Joseph

Virat Kohli is 59 runs short of 15000 in ODIs and given he averages 66.50 against West Indies, there is a decent chance of history being made in Thiruvananthapuram. The one-day game is his best format primarily because he is able to keep up a good rate of scoring without having to take risks. Still, there has been a noticeable trend lately of Kohli looking to up his tempo, relying on the same shots he always does - drives and flicks and pulls - just playing them in the air. In six matches in 2026, he has a strike rate of 106.66 The only other year where he finished with a strike rate above 100 was 2018.

Alzarri Joseph and Daren Sammy had a falling out in public earlier this year over the fast bowler not playing the two Tests against Pakistan. At the start of this ODI series, the coach name-checked Joseph, highlighting that he is back in the team as a CPL champion. Either the ice has thawed or Joseph has been true to his words: "I'm a professional, so I'm going to go to work. I am representing the West Indies. I'm not representing Daren Sammy, so for me, I'm neither here nor there in terms of a relationship."

Team news: India

India briefly had an injury scare, when Shubman Gill was forced to leave the nets after being hit by a Mohammed Siraj delivery. He sat for the remainder of the session with an icepack on his elbow, not returning to bat, but Sitanshu Kotak insisted the following day that he would be good to play. In case there's a dramatic twist, India still have Yashasvi Jaiswal as a backup opener, always itching for game time.

Elsewhere, the big question lies at No.4, vacant without Shreyas Iyer, and the make-up of their pace attack. Gaikwad is likely to take up the two-down slot, or at least is the frontrunner, while India could go with a three-member pace attack and NKR, given the bounce seen in the practice sessions.

Probable XI: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Team news: West Indies

West Indies only practiced one of the evenings, and contrary to India's practice the day before, it wasn't full-throttle intensity, easing their way into the tour. Shai Hope understandably forms their batting fulcrum, but they also come with a measured mix of experience and new faces. Jewel Andrew returns after nearly a year, and there's intrigue around Amir Jangoo, 29 but still young in his West Indies career. Vitel Lawes, meanwhile, adds more layers to a spin attack that already has the experienced arms of Gudakesh Motie and Roston Chase

Probable XI: John Campbell, Justin Greaves/Jewel Andrew, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Amir Jangoo, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales

Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram: Pitch Report

The pacy and bouncy conditions at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram suggest that the pitch is going to assist the team opting to bowl first. The pitch is expected to ease out for the batters, especially as the sun settles, which means that the chasing team might be seen playing their strokes confidently. A score in the 300-320 range could be considered as a par total at this venue, but a cautious approach will be the key to do so.

Stats and trivia:

1. Hope leads the way at No. 4
2. Since the end of the last World Cup, West Indies average 28.09 against spin. Of the traditional ODI teams only Zimbabwe (24.12) fare worse. How they tackle Jadeja, who rarely gives anything away, and Kuldeep Yadav, who is a wicket-taking threat, could go a long way to deciding the result.
3. India have been one of the quickest scoring teams since the end of the last World Cup, their runs-per-over of 6.08 second only to England's 6.17. The have kept that rate while averaging 39.25 runs per wicket.
4. India's top three average 53.34 since the end of the last World Cup. West Indies' corresponding figure is 29.35. They do, however, have the best performing middle-order batter in this time - Hope has scored 1350 runs at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 92.91.

What they said:

"I always see them (youngsters) talking to senior players or me, or Gautam (Gambhir) and Sairaj (Bahutule). The environment, I actually feel from inside, it is brilliant because everyone knows there is one year until the World Cup, everyone knows it is very important, everyone wants to settle in the Indian team where the youngsters are coming.

"And they have been outstandingly good. They are not coming just because they have been performing so well. So, it is a process where obviously with Indians being emotional people, I always see that our players, Indian players, they always share what they feel. So, that is a great thing (to have)" - Sitanshu Kotak, on the equation between junior and senior players in the team.

"The harsh reality is almost every series that we go into, those stats are always at the top of the list. We always say we haven't been in this team in 20 years or 15 plus years. So that means when we are taking our strides, we must be doing something right. So you can talk about not automatically qualifying for the World Cup, but certainly some of the strides that we make as a team is definitely commendable.

"Whenever you come to India, you want to play against the best team, win against the best team. So it will definitely be added motivation. We know it's going to be a tough, uphill battle, but we're looking forward to this one," - Shai Hope, when asked if their long wait for a series win in India is added motivation.

IND vs WI: Head-to-Head Record in ODIs

Matches Played 142

Won by IND 72

Won by WI 64

Tied / No Results 06

First-ever Fixture June 09, 1979 (West Indies won)

Most Recent Fixture August 01, 2023 (India won)

Thank you Raji for the thread.

After a long time, we are going to see Rohit and Kohli in action today.

Only 2 ODI Matches have been played at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. One was played between India and West Indies, which was won by India by 10 wickets while in the other game, India scored 390 and bowled Sri Lanka out for 73.

Current Form India:

India are currently placed at the 1st position on ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings with a rating of 116.

When it comes to ODI's, India haven't been at their best. They were recently beaten by England in a 3 Match ODI Series by 2-1.

India are led by the charismatic Shubman Gill. They have included several in form players in the team like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel and KL Rahul. India are expected to dominate West Indies in the ODI Series.

Players to look out for:

1. Virat Kohli - He would be itching to get on the ground against West Indies in the 50 overs format. Kohli has a good record against West Indies in the format and he is expected to continue scoring hundreds for fun in the ODI Series.

2. Prasidh Krishna - The young fast bowling sensation Krishna has proved his potential in the last 2 years. Krishna can bowl equally well in both Powerplay and death overs. He is expected to be amongst wickets in the upcoming matches.