India and West Indies are heading into their third T20I on Sunday, October 11, with the five-match series locked up at 1-1, and if their last game was any indication, this one at Holkar Stadium in Indore is going to be an absolute slugfest.
Ranchi Was Just a Warm-Up for Indore’s Batting Paradise
The series definitely got turned on its head in Ranchi on Friday. What started as a one-sided affair just exploded into an open contest in the most extraordinary way. West Indies pulled off an insane chase, gunning down 250 runs with nine balls to spare, finishing on 252 for 4 in just 18.3 overs. Captain Shai Hope was an absolute machine, smashing 102 off only 45 balls, and Sherfane Rutherford wasn’t far behind with 84 off 37. India had put up a monstrous 249 for 5 batting first, and Shreyas Iyer was quick to point the finger at the dew for their defeat.
Those two teams combined for a ridiculous 501 runs in Ranchi! But get this: West Indies still finished eight runs shy of the highest T20I total ever made at Holkar Stadium. Indore has this wild reputation for producing massive scores. We’re talking short boundaries, like 56 meters square and about 68 meters straight. Bowlers just rarely get an easy time there. They’ve only played four T20Is at the ground, yet those games have already delivered two totals of 227 or more, and three individual scores of 89 or more. You know this place is built for hitting!
Holkar’s Records Are Just Absurd
So, what’s the craziest score we’ve seen at Holkar? It’s India’s 260 for 5 against Sri Lanka on December 22, 2017. That’s a run rate of 13.00, folks! Sri Lanka tried to answer with 172 in 17.2 overs, but India still won by a massive 88 runs. That innings was basically a two-man show: Rohit Sharma hammered 118, and KL Rahul added 89. Seriously, those two scored 207 of the 260 runs by themselves. Nobody else even passed 28 in that lineup.
Nobody has even come close to that mark since. South Africa managed 227 for 3 against India in October 2022, which is still a huge score, but it’s 33 runs short of that record. Even India’s 249 for 5 and West Indies’ 252 for 4 in Ranchi couldn’t top the 260 mark.
The same game that gave us the team record also gave us the individual one. Rohit Sharma’s 118 against Sri Lanka came off just 43 balls, with 12 fours and 10 sixes. That means 108 of his 118 runs were boundaries, and he was scoring at an insane strike rate of 274.41. Rilee Rossouw is the only other player to hit a century there, with 100 not out off 48 balls for South Africa against India in October 2022, including seven fours and eight sixes. His ton actually helped South Africa win by 49 runs, after India got bowled out for 178.
Looking at the highest team scores, you’ve got India’s 260/5 in 2017, South Africa’s 227/3 in 2022, and India’s 173/4 in 2024 against Afghanistan. That 173/4 was actually the highest score made while chasing, and it only took 15.4 overs. It’s wild that only two of these high totals actually won their matches, and both were made batting first.
So, when India and West Indies step onto that pitch on Sunday, you know exactly what to expect. This isn’t just about taking a 2-1 series lead, it’s about seeing who can truly dominate a ground built for batting fireworks. Get ready for some serious hitting, because Holkar Stadium rarely disappoints.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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