India defeated the West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on October 11, 2026, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. The hosts posted an imposing 223 before restricting the visitors to 209/7, with Abhishek Sharma’s explosive batting proving crucial to the outcome. West Indies batter Shamar Springer, who smashed an unbeaten 35 off just 11 deliveries, opened up about his team’s strategy against Abhishek, who continued his impressive form in the series.

Springer acknowledged the Indian opener’s quality and explained that the West Indies planned to adopt a defensive approach rather than allow him to dominate with boundaries. “He is a world-class player. Kudos to him, for sure. But I guess our plan B is to just be as defensive as possible and try to make him get singles and twos, running at moments. Nothing too extravagant,” Springer said, as quoted by NDTV Sports.

He added that controlling a batter of Abhishek’s calibre was difficult on a good batting surface, leaving the visitors with limited options beyond restricting scoring opportunities. Abhishek scored 69 off 30 balls, striking six fours and five sixes to register his 14th T20I half-century. He also became the fastest batter in terms of balls faced to reach 2,000 runs in T20I cricket.

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The left-hander shared a 108-run partnership for the second wicket with Ishan Kishan, who contributed 37 off 18 deliveries. Their aggressive stand gave India the platform to post a challenging total.

Despite Springer’s late assault, the West Indies fell short by 14 runs. The batter admitted that his team missed opportunities to score additional runs and praised the Indian bowlers for using the conditions effectively. “We thought the wicket would play a little better. The ball kept a bit lower than we expected. Also, we thought there would be some dew in the second half but there wasn’t really any dew,” Springer explained.

He added that the Indian bowlers adapted better to the surface, making the chase increasingly difficult during the middle overs. Springer also dismissed suggestions that captain Shai Hope’s early dismissal for five had significantly affected the team’s overall performance.

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According to Springer, the West Indies had enough batting depth to recover from early setbacks, but they failed to capitalise on key phases of the innings. He believed that scoring six additional runs during either the powerplay or middle overs could have changed the outcome of the match. India’s victory gave them a crucial series advantage, while the West Indies will look to bounce back in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad on October 14.