Kolkata, Nov 6 : The last time West Indies toured here in 2011, they lost the 3-match series 0-2 but this time Darren Sammy, their captain is willing to put the record straight. He says that though they are happy to be a part of all the Sachin celebrations, they won't give him an inch and make it as difficult as possible. One stat that will give Sammy confidence is this: West Indies have won their last six Tests, two each against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Kemar Roach's absence is a big blow for the West Indies but this Sheldon Cottrell is quite a talent. He is a left-arm quick and bowls rapid with swing proving to be a dangerous ally. Apart from all that, the one thing that you should watch out for, is his wicket-taking celebrations - he does a salute each time he takes a wicket. Saw those celebrations a lot during the Caribbean Premier League. Definitely a sight worth waiting for!
Statistician Rajneesh Gupta on twitter: 'Last 40 player to appear in a Test before @sachin_rt was Alec Stwart (in 2003). Last Indian: Vinoo Mankad (in 1959).'
West Indies have won the toss and have opted to bat
Dhoni: 'The pacers might have a bit of help at the start, then it will be up to our spinners. We are not worried, are looking forward to the 199th Test of Sachin. Even in the ODIs, we played authentic shots to rack up big scores. Arriving at our playing XI was a bit tricky, we have two debutants, Rohit Sharma and Shami Ahmed.
Sammy: 'We will bat first. The surface looks a bit tricky, we do not want to bat last. Our preparations are pretty good, we had a mental training session at Miami and we had a good practise game here. Two changes for us, Kemar Roach has not recovered and Sheldon Cottrell will make his debut. Narsingh Deonarine is not playing,'
Teams:
West Indies (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin(w), Darren Sammy(c), Shane Shillingford, Veerasammy Permaul, Sheldon Cotterrell, Tino Best
India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Mohammed Shami
The West Indies are a side which shouldn't be taken lightly - they have Kemar Roach and Tino Best; two very quick and very dangerous opening bowlers. In Shane Shillingford, they have a very capable off-spinner with a decent backup in Veerasammy Permaul. The batting revolves around Shiv, with Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels the main men in the middle-order. Not to forget the charismatic and deadly Chris Gayle at the top. And they are led very well by Darren Sammy.
Pitch report: Arun Lal, the local man has a look at the pitch and mentions it is dark. Because of all the rain recently - there was a Ranji Trophy match which was called off as well - the moisture content will be high. The grass has been shaved off. The cracks are visible and it might widen as the game progresses. Batting during the first-hour will be a challenge. Spinners will get significant advantage as the game goes on.
Coming to the pitch, the chief groundsman at the Eden Gardens Prabir Mukherjee has said that it will be a firm, even-bouncing wicket. Darren Sammy has said that it 'looks like a four-day pitch.' The last Test India played here, they lost to England on a wicket that helped reverse swing as the game went on. The weather is expected to be perfect with no rain predicted throughout the duration of the match. The temperature is expected to hover 30C.
Just in: Rohit Sharma who has played 108 ODIs before today, is making his Test debut. He was presented his Test cap by Sachin Tendulkar. Lots of hugging, patting on the backs and smiles as Rohit finally makes his debut.
More about Chanderpaul: Shiv as he is known, has a great record against India. He averages 66 against them, compared to his overall average of 52. He has 7 Test hundreds against them and only once has he not recorded a ton in a series (in 2006) out of the 6 series he has played. A tremendous record and he is one batsman who the Indians have historically had trouble dismissing.
Not only is this Sachin's last series, but the series will also be a landmark one for a certain Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He will be playing his 150th Test at Mumbai and at the age of 39-years has no plans of retiring anytime soon. His son, Tagenarine has already made his first-class debut. What are the odds of seeing the two together at the batting crease soon?
Got enough of Tendulkar? If you have, then it's time to concentrate on the cricket. Amidst all the euphoria surrounding the series, one shouldn't forget that there are a lot of other things that demands attention from both sides' perspective when it comes to this series.
#On day 5 (if the match goes on till then) an aircraft is scheduled to hover over Eden Gardens and shower 199 kilos of rose petals.
#Day 3 is likely to see 199 balloons with Tendulkar's face on them being released
#More than 70,000 Tendulkar masks are being handed out to the spectators. What a sight that will be!