An Oddsworth Opinion
How long can India's batting keep covering for their bowling?
The view doing the rounds is that India's ODI side has become two teams in one: a batting order that has outscored everyone since the 2025 Champions Trophy final, and an attack that sits near the bottom of the pile. The series against West Indies that has just finished played that argument out over three matches. West Indies made 295 for 7, 405 for 7 and 352 for 5, and India still won the first two.
They won them comfortably, too. India chased 295 for the loss of two wickets in 41.4 overs at the Greenfield International Stadium, then ran down 405, again only two wickets down, in 43.3 overs at Barsapara. The batters who chased 405 with overs to spare were carrying an attack that had just conceded 405 to West Indies.
What the bowling costs them
The third ODI showed what happens when the batting is merely very good. India made 351 for 7 batting first and West Indies knocked the runs off with five wickets down in 48.2 overs. Our forecast gave India an 87% chance before that match, against a side that has won only 18 of the 62 ODIs between the two since July 2005.
Our forecasts made India 86% favourites for each of the first two matches as well, and both ended in wins by eight wickets. Those margins hid how much the bowlers had given away: West Indies were never held under 295 in the series, and India never took more than seven wickets in an innings.
- WSouth AfricaWon by 9 wickets v South Africa, 2025-12-06
- WNew ZealandWon by 4 wickets v New Zealand, 2026-01-11
- LNew ZealandLost by 7 wickets v New Zealand, 2026-01-14
- LNew ZealandLost by 41 runs v New Zealand, 2026-01-18
- WEnglandWon by 6 wickets v England, 2026-07-14
- LEnglandLost by 4 wickets v England, 2026-07-16
- LEnglandLost by 27 runs v England, 2026-07-19
- WWest IndiesWon by 8 wickets v West Indies, 2026-09-27
- WWest IndiesWon by 8 wickets v West Indies, 2026-09-30
- LWest IndiesLost by 5 wickets v West Indies, 2026-10-03
Top of the rankings, for now
None of this has cost India their standing yet. Our ratings have them as the best of the ten men's ODI sides, with a 72% chance of beating an average side, and the ICC rankings also put them first. On the evidence of the West Indies series, that position leans heavily on the batting, which is a risky way to stay on top.
Three matches against West Indies are a small window on where India's batters and bowlers stand against every other ODI side. What the series does show is that the imbalance is real: the batting covered for the bowling twice and could not manage it a third time. An attack that could not defend 351 against a side our forecast gave a 13% chance will be punished more often by stronger batting line-ups. India's next series should be judged on one thing: whether the bowlers can defend a good score when India bat first.