Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. West Indies the team that once terrorized every nation on earth with pace, power, and an unbreakable swagger are bowled out for 162 and 146. India declare on 448/5 and win by an innings and 140 runs in just 3 days.
But here’s what makes this rivalry remarkable: there was a time a long time when West Indies were exactly what India are now. Dominant, seemingly unbeatable, and winning series in India with the same casual authority India showed in Ahmedabad.
This is the complete West Indies vs India cricket timeline: the full story of how this rivalry flipped, what happened in between, and where it stands today.
The Head-to-Head Numbers: A Rivalry in Transition
| Format | Matches | India Won | West Indies Won | Tied/NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 102 | 25 | 30 | 47 |
| ODIs | 142 | 72 | 64 | 6 |
| T20Is (since 2017) | 55 | 44 | 10 | 1 |
West Indies still lead in Test matches overall 30 wins to India’s 25 across 102 Tests. In ODIs, India lead narrowly 72-64. In T20Is since 2017, India are 44-10 making them 4.4 times more likely to win in the shortest format.
West Indies’ overall Test lead exists almost entirely because of their dominance from 1948 to 1983. Since 2006. The last time WI won a Test series against India. They have not won a single Test series against India. The overall head-to-head number is a historical artefact, not a reflection of the current balance of power.
Era 1 (1948–1970): West Indies Rule and India Learns
The two teams first played in 1948-49 when West Indies toured India. India lost the 5-match series 1-0 (four draws). West Indies, led by John Goddard, were the stronger side in every metric batting depth, pace attack, and experience.
The 1960s brought Gary Sobers, one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, and India had no structural answer. West Indies won four consecutive series against India from 1958 to 1966. Indian batters routinely failed against the combination of fast bowling and Caribbean aggression.
This era is often dismissed as India being “not ready.” India were competitive in several matches they drew series at home when conditions suited their spin. But once they left home soil, the quality gap was unmistakable. Conditions matter in cricket. West Indies’ home wickets in the Caribbean fast, bouncy, unpredictable were the original home-fortress tracks, 30 years before India started preparing spin-friendly surfaces at home.
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Era 2 (1971): The Turning Point in the Caribbean
March–April 1971 | India tour of the Caribbean | India win series 1-0
This is the single most important series in the history of this rivalry. India under captain Ajit Wadekar went to the Caribbean and won their first-ever Test series away from home.
Sunil Gavaskar’s Debut: 774 Runs in a Series
A 21-year-old named Sunil Gavaskar played his first Test series. He scored 774 runs across 4 Tests at an average of 154.80, including four centuries and three half-centuries.
No Indian batter had ever attacked West Indies fast bowling like this before. Gavaskar didn’t duck and weave he played with a technique so precise that Hall, Gibbs, and Holder simply couldn’t find his edge. This debut is still considered one of the greatest individual introductions in Test history.
India won the decisive Port of Spain Test by 7 wickets. Wadekar’s team contained Gary Sobers the greatest cricketer in the world at that time and still won the match. That was the moment Indian cricket announced itself as a genuine Test force.
The 1971 Caribbean series win is India’s most psychologically undervalued achievement. It didn’t just win a cricket series it shifted how Indian cricketers believed they could compete overseas. Every Indian Test win in England (1971), every century against Dennis Lillee, every Gavaskar back-foot drive all of that confidence was born in the Caribbean in 1971.
Era 3 (1975–1983): West Indies at Their Most Dominant
Clive Lloyd’s West Indies of the mid-1970s to mid-1980s were arguably the greatest team in cricket history. Four fast bowlers Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner all operating at 140+ kph, all with perfect precision.
India faced this West Indies attack and struggled. Home series were occasionally competitive because Indian spinners like Bedi, Chandrasekhar, and Prasanna could exploit turning tracks. But away? West Indies won with authority.
The 1983 World Cup Final: India Breaks the Dynasty
June 25, 1983 | Lord’s, London | India 183 all out | West Indies 140 all out
West Indies were chasing 183. A total their batters hit in training. They had won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979. The 1983 final was meant to be a coronation.
Kapil Dev caught Viv Richards off Madan Lal’s bowling. One of the most iconic moments in cricket history. West Indies, who had never lost a World Cup match, were bowled out for 140. India won by 43 runs.
This is where things went permanently wrong for West Indies cricket. The 1983 final didn’t just cost them a trophy it broke their belief in invincibility. Within a decade, West Indies cricket entered a structural decline. The board failed to invest in youth cricket. The pipeline dried up. India took the opposite lesson. The 1983 win triggered massive commercial investment in Indian cricket. The BCCI grew. The IPL eventually followed. The divergence in cricket infrastructure begins here.
Era 4 (1983–2006): India’s Gradual Rise
Through the late 1980s and 1990s, the teams were roughly evenly matched West Indies still had Brian Lara, Curtly Ambrose, and Courtney Walsh, while India had Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Anil Kumble.
West Indies won a Test series in India as recently as 1994-95. In 2001-02, the series was drawn 1-1 in India. But the overall momentum was shifting India were winning more, West Indies were struggling to replicate their glory days.
2006: The Last West Indies Test Series Win Over India
West Indies tour of India 2006 | West Indies won the 4-Test series 1-0 (3 draws)
West Indies’ last series win over India came in 2006. It was narrow 1 win in 4 Tests, with three drawn. But it stands as the final date on which West Indies could claim Test series parity with India.
After 2006, India won every single bilateral Test series against West Indies. 2011-12: India won 2-0 at home. 2013-14: 2-0. 2016: India won 2-0 in the Caribbean (Virat Kohli’s double century in Antigua). 2018-19: 2-0 at home, including two innings defeats. 2019: 2-0 in the Caribbean. 2023: 1-0. 2025: 2-0.
Era 5 (2006–2025): India’s Sustained Dominance
2018: Back-to-Back Innings Defeats
India beat West Indies by an innings and 272 runs at Rajkot and by 10 wickets at Hyderabad the two biggest consecutive Test victories in recent India-WI history. These were not competitive matches. They were structural mismatches between a fully professional Test machine and a team in transition.
2019: 2-0 Sweep in the Caribbean
India won back-to-back Tests in the Caribbean by 318 runs at North Sound and 257 runs at Kingston. It was India’s first series win in the Caribbean since Wadekar’s 1971 team nearly 50 years later. The circle from 1971 had been completed.
The 2025 Test Series: India Win 2-0 in a Statement for Shubman Gill’s Era
Series Dates: October 2–14, 2025 | Result: India won 2-0 | WTC Points: India 12, West Indies 0
1st Test, Ahmedabad: India Win by Innings and 140 Runs
Date: October 2–4, 2025 | Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
| Innings | Team | Score | Key Performer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | West Indies | 162 | Justin Greaves 32 |
| 1st | India | 448/5d | Dhruv Jurel 125, Mohammed Siraj 4/40 |
| 2nd | West Indies | 146 | — |
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India won by an innings and 140 runs.
The star of this match was Dhruv Jurel wicket-keeper batter playing his early Tests who scored 125 off 210 balls. A century from number 7 in a match India won by an innings is the definition of depth. Mohammed Siraj took 4/40 to destroy West Indies’ first innings. The match lasted 3 days.
Most coverage framed this as “WI were poor.” India’s bowling was excellent. Siraj’s 4/40 on a flat Ahmedabad surface required skill and precision, not just WI incompetence.
2nd Test, Delhi: Jaiswal 175, Gill 129, Kuldeep 5-for
Date: October 10–14, 2025 | Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
| Innings | Team | Score | Key Performer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | India | 518/5d | Jaiswal 175, Gill 129, Sai Sudharsan 87 |
| 1st | West Indies | 248 (f/o) | Alick Athanaze 41, Kuldeep Yadav 5/82 |
| 2nd | West Indies | 390 | John Campbell 115, Jasprit Bumrah 3/44 |
| 2nd | India | 124/3 (target 121) | KL Rahul 58* |
India won by 7 wickets.
India’s first innings was a batting masterclass. Yashasvi Jaiswal (175) and Shubman Gill (129) put on a massive partnership. Three India batters scored 80+ this is the batting depth that makes India almost impossible to restrict in home conditions.
Kuldeep Yadav took 5/82 in West Indies’ first innings, triggering the follow-on. West Indies battled back bravely in the second innings John Campbell’s 115 showed fight but the task was always too large. India chased 121 in 35.2 overs with ease.
This series was Shubman Gill’s first Test series win as captain of India. The fact that he scored 129 in the match that clinched the series while also managing the bowling attack as captain puts him in a very select group of India captains who led from the front in their first series.
WTC Implications: India 3/6, West Indies 0/4
This wasn’t just a Test series. It was the World Test Championship cycle in action.
India’s 2-0 win gave them their 3rd WTC series win from 6 attempts in the 2025-27 cycle. West Indies, simultaneously, had won zero from four WTC outings. This structural divergence India accumulating WTC points while WI struggles to compete is the clearest statistical proof of where both cricket boards have taken their Test programs. It isn’t a talent gap. It’s an infrastructure and investment gap that started in 1983 and widened ever since.
What’s Next: West Indies Tour of India 2026
The West Indies will return to India for a full white-ball tour in September–October 2026, featuring:
- 3 ODIs: September 27, 30 & October 3, 2026 (Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Chandigarh)
- 5 T20Is: October 6, 9, 11, 14 & 17, 2026 (Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad, Bengaluru)
West Indies have shown in recent T20Is that they can push India in white-ball cricket their IPL-experienced batters are comfortable on Indian surfaces. This 2026 series is the next chapter of this timeline. Watch which WI batters have IPL experience when the squads are announced that will predict the competitive level.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: Who leads the West Indies vs India cricket head-to-head in Tests?
Ans. West Indies lead the overall Test head-to-head 30-25 across 102 matches. However, West Indies have not won a single Test series against India since 2006 — making India the dominant side over the last 19 years.
Q2: What was the result of India vs West Indies 2025 Test series?
Ans. India won the 2-Test series 2-0. They beat West Indies by an innings and 140 runs in Ahmedabad (October 2–4) and by 7 wickets in Delhi (October 10–14). India earned 12 WTC points; West Indies earned 0.
Q3: When did India first beat West Indies in a Test series?
Ans. India first beat West Indies in a Test series in 1971, when Ajit Wadekar’s team toured the Caribbean. Sunil Gavaskar scored 774 runs on his Test debut. It was India’s first-ever overseas Test series win.
Q4: Who scored a century on debut in the 2025 India vs West Indies Test?
Ans. Dhruv Jurel scored 125 off 210 balls in the 1st Test at Ahmedabad, batting at number 7 in India’s first innings of 448/5 declared. India won the match by an innings and 140 runs.
Q5: When did India beat West Indies in the 1983 World Cup Final?
Ans. India beat West Indies in the 1983 World Cup Final at Lord’s on June 25, 1983. India scored 183 all out; West Indies were bowled out for 140. India won by 43 runs. Kapil Dev’s catch to dismiss Viv Richards was the decisive moment.
Q6: What is India’s head-to-head record vs West Indies in T20Is?
Ans. Since 2017, India have won 44 of 55 T20I matches against West Indies, with West Indies winning just 10 and 1 no result. India win approximately 80% of all T20Is against West Indies in the modern era.