Photo by CRICKETNEXT (CC BY 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

India vs West Indies by the numbers: a series won with the bat and nearly lost with the ball

India won the ODI series against West Indies 2–1. That is the result. The numbers tell a more complicated story.

1,052

Total runs India's bowlers conceded across three matches, an average of about 351 per game.

West Indies made 295 in Thiruvananthapuram, 405 for 7 in Guwahati and 352 for 5 in New Chandigarh. They passed 295 every time they batted. When the other side is that consistent, a batting line-up has to be close to perfect just to keep pace.

405

West Indies' total in the second ODI, the first time they have passed 400 in a one-day international.

India still won that match, which says everything about their batting. But a national record against your attack is not a sign of a bowling unit in control.

223*

Shubman Gill's unbeaten score in Guwahati, from 133 balls with 28 fours and eight sixes.

He reached 200 in 117 balls, the fastest double hundred in ODI history, nine balls quicker than Ishan Kishan's previous record. India chased 406 in 43.3 overs and lost only two wickets. The match produced five centuries, the first time that has happened in an ODI.

334

Gill's runs across the series, which made him the obvious player of the series. He also scored 110 in the opening match.

15,000

Virat Kohli's career ODI runs after his unbeaten 139 from 88 balls in the first match. Only Sachin Tendulkar had reached that mark before him.

It was Kohli's 55th ODI hundred and his tenth against West Indies, and it came in a winning chase of 296, completed with eight wickets and 50 balls to spare.

352

The total West Indies chased down in the decider, the highest successful chase in their ODI history.

India had batted first and made 351 for 7, with KL Rahul unbeaten on 129 from 87 balls. On most days that is a winning score. Shai Hope made sure it wasn't, with an unbeaten 162 from 143 balls, and West Indies got home with five wickets and 10 balls left.

2 out of 3

The number of times India's batting covered for the bowling. The chases in Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati will be talked about for years. The third time, India made 351 and lost.

What the numbers add up to

This series showed a batting line-up that can chase almost anything, and an attack that made it necessary. Gill and Kohli are in the form of their lives. The bowlers gave away 1,052 runs in three matches.

Next time the top order has an ordinary day, those numbers will decide the match.

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