India National Cricket Team vs West Indies Cricket Team Timeline: Complete History (1948–2026)

The India National Cricket Team vs West Indies Cricket Team timeline stretches across 75 years, 274 international matches, and some of the most defining moments in cricket history. West Indies dominated the first four decades. India have controlled this rivalry in every format since 2002. This is not just a head-to-head record page. This is the story of how two cricketing civilisations traded power-through pace, spin, politics, economics, and generational talent-across eight decades of competition.

Key Takeaways

• West Indies won 20 of their 30 all-time Test victories against India before 1990-their overall lead is a historical artifact of one dominant era
• India have not lost a Test series against West Indies since 2002-over 23 consecutive years
• The 1983 World Cup final changed Indian cricket’s commercial trajectory, not the immediate Test-format balance
• T20 cricket remains the one format where West Indies retain genuine historical credibility against India
• West Indies have not won a Test match on Indian soil since 1994/95-a 30-year winless run in India

India vs West Indies Head-to-Head

The India vs West Indies cricket head-to-head record across all formats shows India leading in limited-overs cricket while West Indies hold an overall edge in Tests-driven entirely by pre-1990 results.

Format	Matches	India Won	West Indies Won	Tied / NR
Tests	102	25	30	47
ODIs	142	72	64	6
T20Is	30	19	10	1
Overall	274	116	104	7

Latest Result: India beat West Indies by 5 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. West Indies’ all-time Test lead of 30–25 is built on results from before 1990. Since 2002, West Indies have not won a single Test series against India.

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India vs West Indies: Complete Year-by-Year Timeline

The India National Cricket Team vs West Indies Cricket Team timeline begins in 1948 and covers every major series transition-from Caribbean pace dominance to India’s white-ball supremacy. Below is every significant milestone in this rivalry’s evolution.

Year	Event	Result	Format
1948	First-ever series, India	West Indies won 1-0 (5 Tests)	Test
1952	Series in West Indies	West Indies won 1-0 (5 Tests)	Test
1958/59	Series in India	West Indies won 3-0 (5 Tests)	Test
1961/62	Series in West Indies	West Indies won 5-0	Test
1966/67	Series in India	West Indies won 2-0 (3 Tests)	Test
1971	India’s first series win in West Indies	India won 1-0 (5 Tests)	Test
1974/75	Series in India	West Indies won 3-2 (5 Tests)	Test
1975	First ODI between the two nations	West Indies won	ODI
1983	ICC World Cup Final, Lord’s	India won by 43 runs	ODI
1987/88	Series in India	West Indies won 1-0 (4 Tests)	Test
1994/95	Series in India	India won 1-0 (3 Tests)	Test
2002	Series in West Indies	West Indies won 2-1-last WI Test series win	Test
2006	ODI series in West Indies	India won 4-1	ODI
2011	Series in West Indies	India won 1-0 (3 Tests)	Test
2013	ODI series in West Indies	India won 2-1	ODI
2016	T20 World Cup Final, Eden Gardens	West Indies won by 4 wickets	T20I
2018	Series in India	India won 2-0	Test
2019	ODI series in West Indies	India won 2-0	ODI
2022	ODI series in West Indies	West Indies won 3-2	ODI
2023	T20I series in West Indies	India won 4-1	T20I
2025	Test series in India	India won 2-0	Test
2026	T20 World Cup Super Eights	India won by 5 wickets	T20I

Era-by-Era History: How the Rivalry Shifted

The India vs West Indies bilateral series history is best understood in five distinct eras. Each era has a clear power structure, a tactical reason, and a turning-point match that changed the trajectory.

Era 1: West Indian Supremacy (1948–1970)

India and West Indies first met in November 1948 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi-the first Test played in independent India. West Indies won the five-match series 1-0, with India losing the final Test by just six runs. From 1952 to 1969, West Indies won every Test series between the two sides. The most devastating result was the 5-0 series sweep in the Caribbean in 1961/62-India were dismissed under 200 in seven of their ten innings across that series. The West Indies pace attack of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith had no credible answer from India’s spin-heavy setup. India’s 1948 batting lineup was operating without any established pace-bowling plan against genuine short-pitched bowling. The structural gap was not just talent-it was tactical design.

Era 2: India’s First Breakthrough (1971)

India first defeated West Indies in a Test series in 1971, winning 1-0 across five matches in the Caribbean. Sunil Gavaskar scored 774 runs on debut at an average of 154.80-one of the most statistically dominant debut series performances in Test history. Dilip Sardesai contributed three centuries alongside him.

This result established that India’s batting could survive and succeed against genuine pace bowling in overseas conditions-a blueprint the team spent the next two decades perfecting.

Era 3: The 1983 Turning Point and Its Myth

According to historical match coverage, West Indies entered the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s as overwhelming favourites, having won the previous two editions. India were dismissed for 183. West Indies, chasing, were bowled out for 140. India won by 43 runs. Mohinder Amarnath took 3 for 12. The 1983 World Cup win immediately changed the India vs West Indies cricket rivalry balance. West Indies continued to dominate India in Test cricket for nearly two more decades after 1983. India still lost the 1987/88 Test series at home. West Indies’ Test supremacy over India did not end until 2002. The 1983 result changed India’s commercial and administrative power in world cricket-not its on-field Test balance.

Era 4: India Build Dominance (2002–2019)

The 2002 Caribbean Test series-West Indies winning 2-1-is the last time West Indies defeated India in a Test series. That record now stands at 23+ years. India won the ODI series in West Indies 4-1 in 2006. Between 2011 and 2019, India won every Test series, every home ODI series, and the majority of away encounters. The 2018 home Test series produced India’s largest-ever Test win margin-by an innings and 272 runs in Rajkot-a result that demonstrated the full extent of India’s home-soil dominance in the longer format. West Indies lead the all-time Test head-to-head, so they are the stronger Test team historically. West Indies lead 30–25 in Tests overall, but 20 of those 30 wins came before 1990-achieved by a side widely considered the greatest Test team ever assembled, featuring Marshall, Holding, Garner, Ambrose, Richards, and Greenidge simultaneously. Measuring that era against today’s context is statistically misleading.

Era 5: New Generations, Same Margin (2020–2026)

The October 2025 Test series-West Indies’ first tour of India in seven years-produced identical results despite India fielding a side in significant generational transition.

Test	Venue	West Indies	India	Result
1st Test	Ahmedabad	162 & 146	448/5d	India won by an innings & 140 runs
2nd Test	Delhi	248 & 390	518/5d & 124/3	India won by 7 wickets

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 175 in the second Test. Dhruv Jurel scored 125 on debut in the first. India’s depth had absorbed the loss of multiple all-time greats and produced the same scorelines.

Format-by-Format Records

Every format tells a different story in the India National Cricket Team vs West Indies Cricket Team timeline. Tests show India’s modern Test dominance. ODIs show a reasonably competitive balance. T20Is reveal the one format where West Indies have genuinely troubled India at the highest level.

Test Match Records

• Highest Individual Score (Tests): Brian Lara (WI)-213, Trinidad, 2002
• Best Bowling Figures (Tests): Anil Kumble (India)-6/12, Kolkata, 1994
• Largest Win Margin: India by an innings and 272 runs, Rajkot, 2018
• West Indies’ last Test win in India: 1994/95-30+ years without a Test win on Indian soil
• West Indies’ last Test series win overall: 2002

ODI Records

• Highest Individual Score (ODIs): Virender Sehwag (India)-219, Indore, 2011
• Best Bowling Figures (ODIs): Kapil Dev (India)-5/43, Berbice, 1983
• India’s ODI series record vs West Indies: Won 72 of 142 matches
• Last West Indies ODI series win over India: 2022 (3-2 in the Caribbean)

T20I Records

• Highest Individual Score (T20Is): Evin Lewis (WI)-125*, Kingston, 2017
• Best Bowling Figures (T20Is): Obed McCoy (WI)-6/17, Port of Spain, 2022
• Highest team total (T20Is): West Indies-245/6, Lauderhill, 2016
• Most T20I wickets in this fixture: Kuldeep Yadav (India)-17 wickets in 9 innings, the most efficient bowling record on either side in T20Is between these nations

T20 World Cup Head-to-Head

The India vs West Indies T20 World Cup record is the most competitive sub-segment of this rivalry. West Indies have beaten India twice in World Cup conditions-both times using explosive batting to overhaul large totals.

Year	Stage	Result
2010	Group Stage	West Indies won by 14 runs
2012	Semi-Final	West Indies won
2016	Group Stage	India won
2024	Group Stage	India won
2026	Super Eights	India won by 5 wickets

West Indies hold a 2-3 record against India in T20 World Cup matches-their only format where they have won multiple high-stakes encounters against India. In the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights at Eden Gardens: West Indies posted 195/4. India chased it in 19.2 overs, finishing 199/5. India won by 5 wickets and progressed to the knockout stage. West Indies were eliminated.

All-Time Top Performers

Highest Run Scorers (All Formats)

Sachin Tendulkar leads India’s run-scoring across all formats against West Indies, with 86 appearances in combined formats being the highest for any Indian. Brian Lara leads for West Indies in Tests, while Chris Gayle scored 1,241 runs in 37 ODIs against India at an average of 33.54, including four hundreds-more ODI centuries by one West Indian against India than any other batter in this rivalry’s history.

Player	Team	Matches	Format
SR Tendulkar	India	86	Tests + ODIs
RG Sharma	India	65	All formats
CH Gayle	West Indies	65	All formats
BC Lara	West Indies	61	Tests + ODIs
SM Gavaskar	India	38	Tests

Best Wicket-Takers

Anil Kumble’s 6/12 in Kolkata in 1994 remains the best bowling figures by any Indian bowler against West Indies in Test cricket. Kapil Dev leads India’s ODI wicket-takers in this fixture. On the West Indies side, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh combined to take over 130 Test wickets against India across their careers.

Player	Team	Format	Key Record
Anil Kumble	India	Tests	6/12 best figures
Kapil Dev	India	ODIs	5/43 best figures
Obed McCoy	West Indies	T20Is	6/17 best figures
Kuldeep Yadav	India	T20Is	17 wickets in 9 innings
CEL Ambrose	West Indies	Tests	60+ wickets

Home vs Away: Venue-Specific Records

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India’s home Test dominance against West Indies is arguably the most one-sided venue record in modern bilateral cricket. West Indies have not won a Test on Indian soil since 1994/95-a stretch covering 30+ years and multiple touring parties.

Condition	India	West Indies
Tests in India	Unbeaten in series since 1994/95	No Test win in India since 1994/95
Tests in West Indies	Won series in 1971, 2011, 2016	Last series win at home: 2002
ODIs in India	Dominant since 2013	Last ODI series win in India: 2014
ODIs in West Indies	Won 2019 series 2-0	Won 2022 series 3-2
T20Is in West Indies	Won 2023 series 4-1	Stronger home form in 2021-22

Statistical Trends Most Coverage Misses

These data points define the real structure of the India National Cricket Team vs West Indies Cricket Team timeline-and are consistently underreported.

1. West Indies won 20 of their 30 all-time Test victories against India before 1990. Their overall Test lead is driven entirely by results from a single dominant era.
2. India have not lost a Test series to West Indies since 2002-across 23 consecutive years and multiple different squad generations.
3. West Indies beat India in the T20 World Cup in 2010 and 2012-both times by exploiting India’s vulnerability to power-hitting before India rebuilt their T20 strategy.
4. Chris Gayle scored four ODI hundreds against India-more than any other West Indian batter across the 142-match ODI history between these sides.
5. India conceded 245/6 to West Indies in a 2016 T20I in Lauderhill-the highest T20I total India had conceded at that point in their history.
6. Kuldeep Yadav’s 17 wickets in 9 innings makes him the highest T20I wicket-taker in this fixture-more than any West Indian bowler has managed in T20Is against India.
7. The 2025 Tests were West Indies’ first visit to India for Tests in seven years-and India still won by an innings and 140 runs in the first match.

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