Rain Ruins the Decider as India and West Indies Split T20 Series 2-2 — and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Four-Year Comeback Stalls

BENGALURU — Rain drumming on the covers at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday night ended India's five-match T20 series against the West Indies in a 2-2 draw, with the fifth and deciding T20I washed out.

It was a deflating end to a series that had gone the distance. Persistent showers delayed the start and squeezed the game into a nine-overs-per-side shootout; India were 118 for 5 after 7.4 overs when the rain returned, and with conditions failing to improve, officials called it off with no result.

This was the first international fixture at Chinnaswamy Stadium in two years, and it was supposed to mark veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's return to India's playing XI after nearly four years away. The 36-year-old never bowled a single ball.

A shootout that never finished

West Indies won the toss and elected to field in a nine-overs-per-side contest, and the brief action was pure T20 chaos. India lost Abhishek Sharma for six to Keemo Paul before Ishan Kishan counterattacked with a blistering 30 off 10 balls.

India surged to 118-5 in 7.4 overs, setting up a thrilling short-form finish — but the second rain spell forced the players off before the innings was complete. The groundstaff worked, the umpires waited, the clouds won. No result, no decider.

The Bengaluru crowd, at the venue's first international game in two years, got less than eight overs of action for its patience.

Bhuvneshwar's comeback on hold

The cruelest subplot belonged to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Recalled to India's T20 squad for the first time since November 2022, he was promoted into the playing XI only because Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth match in Hyderabad.

A four-year exile ended on the biggest stage — a home decider. Bhuvneshwar warmed up, waited, watched the covers come on — and never got the new ball. Few comebacks in recent Indian cricket have had this much goodwill behind them; swing bowlers of his vintage are increasingly rare in a T20 setup now built around raw pace.

Bhuvneshwar has also been recalled for India's five-match T20I series in New Zealand starting October 22. His absence from the Hong Kong Sixes (October 30–November 1) was confirmed the same day: Krunal Pandya was named India's captain for that tournament, with Gujarat Titans pacer Kulwant Khejroliya replacing Bhuvneshwar in the seven-member squad.

For the selectors, the rain may be a blessing in disguise: it spared a returning bowler being judged on a nine-over lottery ahead of the New Zealand tour.

What the 2-2 draw really tells us

A drawn home series against the West Indies will be read differently depending on who you ask. For the visitors, holding India to 2-2 is a serious statement — the underdogs leave with a share of the honours and a rained-out decider that could have gone their way.

For India, the series exposed familiar short-format questions. The top order fired in bursts, and the bowling attack — reshuffled by Arshdeep's injury — heads to New Zealand with one fewer competitive outing than planned.

Positives remain: Kishan's 30 off 10 continued his electric touch, and the squad's depth — Bhuvneshwar included — gives management options. Still, drawing a home series against the West Indies will sting. India's bench strength is supposed to bury teams ranked below them; on this evidence, the gap is thinner than the rankings suggest.

Eyes on New Zealand

India now travel to New Zealand for a five-match T20I series starting October 22, and the XI for the first game will look different from the one that never got to finish in Bengaluru.

Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill is squeezing in a Ranji Trophy appearance for Punjab against Chhattisgarh starting October 18 before flying out on October 23 or 24 — a sign of how seriously the tour is being treated.

For Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the question is simple: when does the comeback actually begin? Bengaluru promised an answer and delivered only rain. If his body holds through the New Zealand tour, the wait will have been worth it — but international cricket rarely waits on anyone. New Zealand will have to do instead. He has waited four years; he can wait a little longer — though he surely did not expect to.

TL;DR

• Rain washed out the 5th T20I at Bengaluru on October 17, leaving the five-match series drawn 2-2.
• The game was cut to nine overs per side; India were 118-5 in 7.4 overs when rain returned for good.
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar, recalled after four years and picked after Arshdeep Singh's injury, never bowled.

Key points

• West Indies won the toss and elected to field in a match reduced to nine overs per side.
• Abhishek Sharma fell for six to Keemo Paul; Kishan counterattacked with 30 off 10 balls.
• India were 118-5 in 7.4 overs when the second rain spell forced the abandonment.
• It was the first international fixture at Chinnaswamy Stadium in two years.
• Bhuvneshwar was picked after Arshdeep Singh's shoulder injury in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad.
• Krunal Pandya replaced Bhuvneshwar as Hong Kong Sixes captain, with Kulwant Khejroliya joining the squad.
• India's five-match T20I tour of New Zealand begins October 22. Gill plays Ranji for Punjab first.