West Indies turn to their bowling at Mullanpur after conceding 706 runs in two ODI defeats

West Indies have taken four wickets in two chases on this tour and arrive at Mullanpur needing a different plan with the ball to avoid a 3-0 defeat

India lead the three-match one-day series 2-0, and Saturday's final match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh is the tourists' last chance to take something from it.

Batting has not been the problem. West Indies made 295 for 7 at Thiruvananthapuram and then 405 for 7 at Guwahati, the highest one-day international total in their history, and lost both matches by eight wickets.

India replied with 300 for 2 in 41.4 overs and 406 for 2 in 43.3 overs, which is 706 runs for the loss of four wickets across the two chases, completed with 50 balls and then 39 balls to spare.

Four wickets in two chases

At Thiruvananthapuram the wickets went to Alzarri Joseph, who finished with 1-81 from nine overs, and Roston Chase, who took 1-64 from his ten. Gudakesh Motie went for 66 from ten, Jayden Seales 32 from seven and Matthew Forde 39 from five.

Guwahati was harsher. Seales took 1-78 from eight overs and Shamar Joseph 1-52 from six, while Alzarri Joseph conceded 89 from eight and Keemo Paul 49 from three. Vitel Lawes went for 73 from ten and Chase 63 from 8.3.

Not one West Indies bowler kept his economy rate below seven an over in that innings.

A reshuffle that did not hold

Motie and Forde played the opening match and were left out at Guwahati, where Shamar Joseph, Lawes and Paul came in. Paul bowled three overs and was not seen again.

Motie's 0-66 from ten overs is still the most economical full spell any West Indies bowler has produced in the series, which leaves the left-arm spinner an obvious candidate to return on a surface staging its first men's ODI.

Hope asks for a tighter effort

"Lot of positives I can take from it to be honest. Mainly from the batting side. As a batting group we have been consistently putting up competitive totals," captain Shai Hope said after the Guwahati defeat.

"But when you come up against some of the best batters, you can't let them have a start like that. Have to give credit where it's due, but if I had to be really critical, we had to be a little tighter with the ball."

Hope had made 104 from 94 balls in that match, his 20th ODI hundred, taking him past Brian Lara's 19.

Runs have not been the problem

Hope was one of three centurions at Guwahati. John Campbell made 101 from 68 balls, reaching fifty in 29 deliveries, the fastest by a West Indies batter against India in one-day internationals, and Amir Jangoo added 114 from 77.

It was only the sixth time in ODI history that three batters from the same side have scored hundreds in an innings. Justin Greaves had made a maiden ODI century, 101, in the first match.

Campbell returned to the squad for this tour after a hamstring injury, and Jewel Andrew was recalled having last played the format in June 2025.

India arrive settled

Shubman Gill's unbeaten 223 from 133 balls and Rohit Sharma's 101 from 75 put on 255 for the first wicket at Guwahati. In the opening match Virat Kohli finished on 139 not out and Gill made 110, after Kuldeep Yadav had taken 4-40.

India are without Prasidh Krishna for the last match, the seamer having been ruled out with a hamstring injury and replaced by Anshul Kamboj.

For West Indies the equation is simpler: two totals of real weight have brought nothing, and the series ends on whether they can take wickets.

The third one-day international starts at 2pm IST on Saturday, with West Indies playing to avoid a 3-0 scoreline.

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