The New Ground, the Old Questions — India and West Indies Head North to Mullanpur
The caravan moves to the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh — a venue still writing its own story. Whether this is a series decider or India's coronation lap depends on what happened in Guwahati. What is certain: Virat Kohli carries 15,000 ODI runs and the form of his life, Kuldeep Yadav owns the best figures of the series, and West Indies have three days to find the answer to a question they have been asking since Thiruvananthapuram.
The 1st ODI in Thiruvananthapuram told two stories in one afternoon. The first belonged to West Indies: Justin Greaves and John Campbell put on 135 for the first wicket, Greaves reaching a maiden ODI hundred — 101 off 108, built on timing and patience, the innings of a man who understood that this stage had finally arrived and he was not leaving it quietly. Amir Jangoo added an unbeaten 58 off 43. West Indies posted 295/7, and for a while it felt like enough.
The second story belonged to one man. Virat Kohli walked out at number three and made 139 not out off 88 balls — ten fours, nine sixes, a century from 74 deliveries. Somewhere in the middle of it all, he passed 15,000 ODI runs, joining Sachin Tendulkar in a club that had been a club of one for thirteen years. Shubman Gill made 110 at the other end, and India chased 296 in 41.4 overs with eight wickets in hand.
Between the two stories stood Kuldeep Yadav: 4 for 40 in 10 overs, including two wickets in two balls in the 36th over that turned 135/0 into 198/5. The Player of the Match award went to Kuldeep. The headlines went to Kohli. The result went to India.
Key Numbers Heading Into the 3rd ODI
| 1st ODI result | India won by 8 wickets (50 balls remaining). WI 295/7, IND 300/2. Kohli 139* (88b), Gill 110, Kuldeep 4/40. WI: Greaves 101, Jangoo 58* |
| Kohli vs West Indies (ODI) | 43+ matches · 2,261+ runs · avg 66.50 · 9 hundreds. No opponent has suffered more from his bat in the chase |
| Venue | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh (Mullanpur). One of India's newer grounds — good bounce, true carry, quick outfield. Dew possible in the second innings under lights |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 4/40 in 1st ODI. Player of the Match. Two wickets in two balls in the 36th over — the passage that decided the match. WI's middle order had no answer |
| WI's middle-overs problem | After 135/0 in the 1st ODI, WI lost 7/160 in the remaining 30 overs. Hope 12, Carty 13 (31b). The top order builds; the middle order leaks |
The Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh — Mullanpur to those who have watched it rise from the fields of Punjab — is one of Indian cricket's newer stages. International cricket here is still measured in single digits, every match another data point in a ground still finding its identity.
What we know: the surface tends to offer good bounce and honest carry, the outfield is fast, and the boundaries are hittable without being absurdly short. In early October, the late monsoon humidity of the south gives way to Punjab's drier, cleaner air — the kind of afternoon where the ball comes onto the bat, where the outfield is firm, and where 300 is a target, not a fantasy.
Dew could be a factor in the second innings. Northern India in October has a well-documented pattern: the evening moisture makes the ball skid on, spinners lose their grip, and the team batting second gains a quiet advantage. If the toss goes India's way, the decision — bat first on a true surface or chase under lights with the dew — could shape the match before a ball is bowled.
For Shubman Gill, this is the closest thing to a home match he will play all year. Fazilka, where he grew up, is three hours away. The Punjab crowd will claim him as their own, and a hundred here — after his 110 in Thiruvananthapuram — would be the kind of homecoming that stays in the memory long after the scorecard fades.
If India have already clinched the series at 2-0, the conversation shifts from performance to management. The 2027 World Cup is ten months away. Kohli is 37. Rohit Sharma is 39. Five T20Is against the same opponent follow the ODIs. Do you rest one or both of them here, give Yashasvi Jaiswal a full game at the top, hand Auqib Nabi a debut with the new ball, and use this match as a World Cup audition?
If the series is 1-1, the answer is simpler: India's best XI walks out. Rohit and Gill open, Kohli at three, Ruturaj Gaikwad at four, KL Rahul keeping at five, Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy as the all-rounders, Kuldeep the lead spinner, and Prasidh Krishna and Siraj sharing the new ball. The third seamer — Gurnoor Brar or Siraj, depending on conditions — remains the only selection debate in a squad that otherwise picks itself.
Either way, Kuldeep's place is not in question. His 4/40 was not just a match-winning spell — it was a reminder that in the 50-over game, the team with the better spinner usually wins the middle overs, and India have the best one in the world right now.
Whatever the series scoreline reads, West Indies arrive in Mullanpur knowing exactly what they need to fix. It is the same answer to the same question: the middle overs.
Greaves and Campbell proved in Thiruvananthapuram that the top order can take on India's attack — 135 without loss is a statement, not a fluke. The problem is what follows. Once Kuldeep came on, wickets fell in clusters: Hope for 12, Carty for 13 off 31 balls, and the 63 runs for five wickets through overs 20 to 36 turned a 330-trajectory innings into 295.
The solution might be tactical rather than technical. West Indies could promote Jangoo, whose unbeaten 58 off 43 in the 1st ODI showed he can accelerate under pressure, to bat at four or five with a specific brief: attack Kuldeep before the wrist-spinner settles. Roston Chase's off-spin could be used more aggressively — not as a fill-in but as a genuine attacking option with catching positions around the bat. And the fielding setup during India's middle overs — boundary riders rather than catchers — may need to be inverted.
With the ball, Seales has been disciplined without being devastating. His pace is real, his control with the new ball competitive, but he needs a wicket in the powerplay to change the shape of an innings. Alzarri Joseph's 81 from nine overs in the 1st ODI is unsustainable; he has the talent to be a match-winner, but against this batting lineup, he cannot afford to miss his lengths. Motie's left-arm spin remains the one variable India might not have fully solved — if the Mullanpur pitch offers any turn, he could be West Indies' trump card.
India are favourites regardless of the series position. At home, with Kohli in the form of his life, Gill playing with the freedom of a man who has just scored a hundred, and Kuldeep controlling the middle overs like no spinner in the world, the question is not whether India will compete but whether West Indies can make them earn it.
West Indies have talent — Greaves' hundred proved that, Jangoo's fifty confirmed it, and Seales' pace ensures the first hour will always be competitive. What they lack is the 50-over discipline to turn good periods into match-winning ones. Fifty overs is a long time. India have mastered the art of winning all three phases; West Indies, right now, are winning one.
Player to watch — India: Shubman Gill. The captain, the local hero, the man who made 110 in the 1st ODI and now plays in front of a crowd that grew up watching him on their school grounds. A hundred at Mullanpur would be more than a statistic. West Indies: Amir Jangoo, whose unbeaten 58 off 43 in the 1st ODI hinted at a batter capable of changing the shape of an innings. If he gets a full opportunity, he could be the difference.
India vs West Indies, 3rd ODI, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh — 2:00 PM IST, Saturday. Unlock CricIntel Pro for India's World Cup 2027 form tracker and deep matchup data.
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