India out to resume batting range and frenzy in Guwahati

India vs West Indies: Guwahati ODI Preview

Match Details

• Date: September 30, 2026
• Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati

Context & Atmosphere
Following a frenzied reception in Trivandrum, where fans mobbed the team at the airport, the focus shifts to Guwahati. India skipped practice on Monday night due to travel fatigue, allowing the West Indies to take over the evening slot.

Key Storylines

• India’s Batting Dominance: Virat Kohli continues his prolific run, having scored more ODI runs since the 2023 World Cup than any other player. Shubman Gill also hit a century in the previous match.
• Bowling Experimentation: Spin coach Sairaj Bahutule confirmed India will rotate bowlers into different roles. Nitish Reddy was tried as a new-ball bowler in the first ODI. Gurnoor Brar may also bowl new ball. There is speculation that Mohammed Siraj or Auqib Nabi could be swapped in to test combinations.
• West Indies’ Middle-Order Woes: While Justin Greaves and John Campbell adjusted well to Indian pace in the first 15 overs, the middle order collapsed against Kuldeep Yadav. Amir Jangoo (58*) secured the backend but suggested the team needs to attack the spinner more.
• Injury Blow: Justin Greaves is ruled out of this match due to calf trouble, a significant loss for the tourists.

Pitch & Weather Report

• Conditions: Excessive heat alert is in effect in Guwahati. The afternoon heat could sap the team bowling first.
• Surface: Guwahati has hosted only two ODIs previously, where all four innings saw 300+ totals. The pitch offers fast outfields and small dimensions, favoring batters who can hit gaps.

Team News

India

• Shubman Gill: The blow to his elbow in the previous match did not affect his scoring; the two-day break provides additional recovery time.
• Ravindra Jadeja: Expectations are higher for the second spinner, who has taken just one wicket in his last seven innings. Bahutule insists Jadeja has been "much improved" as a bowler in the last six months.
• Probable XI: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy/Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar

West Indies

• Line-up Changes: With Greaves out, Jewel Andrew is likely to open. Sherfane Rutherford may move up the order as a middle-order reinforcement.
• Bowling Options: Finger spinners Roston Chase and Gudakesh Motie struggled to turn the ball off the pitch. Left-arm wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes is a potential option to add variety.
• Probable XI: Jewel Andrew, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Amir Jangoo, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie/Vitel Lawes, Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph

Key Stats

• Among specialist spinners, only Rashid Khan (8) has won more ODI Player of the Match awards than Kuldeep Yadav since his debut.
• Virat Kohli has scored a century in both ODIs played at Guwahati so far: 140(107) vs WI (2018) and 113(87) vs SL (2023).
• India are in line to win their 14th successive bilateral series against West Indies.

Quotes

"Your pitches are very good… fast outfields, small outfields. So, it is a great opportunity as a batsman to score runs in India. You get value for your shots. Your fields are really quick. It is just a matter of getting in strong positions and hitting gaps."
— Floyd Reifer, West Indies batting coach

"During the series, we will come across certain changes, purely to understand who we can have placed well in the right position… Ample opportunities will be given to all the bowlers to bowl in different phases. You might see Gurnoor bowling the new ball. Things like that. And I think that is very important to know how the players, because it is a young side."
— Sairaj Bahutule, India spin bowling coach