West Indies tour of India 2026 | 2nd ODI | Preview and Predictions
Captain Shubman Gill and veteran talisman Virat Kohli powered India to a dominant win in the opening ODI. Now, the Men in Blue will be looking to wrap up the series in Guwahati as India look to pick up a crucial series win at home.
For the second ODI between India and the West Indies, here we present our preview and predictions.
IND v WI 2026 | 2nd ODI | 14:00 IST, September 30, 2026
The hosts came into the first game with a relatively inexperienced pace attack. Mohammed Siraj didn’t get a chance, which meant Prasidh Krishna was the lead pacer, supported by Gurnoor Brar and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Already without Jasprit Bumrah, and now with no Siraj, India’s pace attack lacked teeth, as Krishna, Reddy, and Brar weren’t able to trouble the West Indies batters with the new ball.
WI stormed to 135/0 inside 20 overs before the Indian spinners helped their side get back into the game. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav put a check on the runs in the middle, and all-rounder Naman Dhir, playing his first ODI, provided Gill with an extra bowling option and kept things tight in the middle overs. It was Yadav who ended up turning things in India’s favour, as his 4/40 helped India restrict the Windies to under 300, which looked like an easy target for the visitors, especially given how strong WI’s start was.
Chasing a score of 296, the Indian openers got off to the perfect start. A cautious Gill and Rohit Sharma made the most of early chances to put up 74 in 12 overs. Sharma then fell, but Gill carried on and, along with Virat Kohli, put up a stunning 151 partnership that more or less wrapped up the game.
Twin centuries from Gill and Kohli saw India ease to an eight-wicket win. Going forward, with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan missing from the middle order, Gill and Kohli will need to shoulder more responsibility, and they have started the right way. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been a chance with Iyer leading the T20 team at the Asian Games, got to spend some time in the middle and will hope for more runs in the middle as well.
The visitors, meanwhile, started brilliantly against the Indian seamers. John Campbell and Justin Greaves put the West Indies in a commanding position at 135/0 inside 20 overs. Campbell was unable to convert his half-century to a big score, but Greaves scored a brilliant 101.
The Windies looked set for a big target on a batting-friendly wicket. Once the openers departed, however, the middle order failed to keep up the pressure. Barring a fighting 58* from Amir Jangoo, WI lost the plot and a collapse ensued, triggered by Kuldeep Yadav, which saw them stumble their way to a below-par 295.
Against a batting unit like India’s in subcontinent conditions, it was always going to be an uphill task for the West Indian bowlers, and the visitors made life even harder for themselves by dropping Shubman Gill on 11. Gill went on to make them pay dearly, as the Caribbean bowlers didn’t provide much of a threat to Gill and Kohli, who took the game away from the visitors. Jayden Seales ended up as the only positive bowling point for WI, and captain Shai Hope will expect the rest of his bowlers to step up in the remaining games.
The Guwahati pitch is another one the batters will enjoy. There will be some assistance for the quick bowlers, but we expect another high-scoring game.
Team India are looking too strong right now both on paper and on the pitch; it’s hard to look past them in this series-deciding game.
Fantasy XI: Shubman Gill (c), John Campbell, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Roston Chase, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Jayden Seales, Gudakesh Motie
Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Winners Prediction: India
