India vs West Indies 1st Test highlights: India 37/0 at stumps after Mohd Shami takes 4/71 to wreck shabby Windies

Day one of the first Test between India and West Indies saw the hosts trailing the visitors by 197 runs at stumps in Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Catch all the highs and lows from the first day's play. (Match Scorecard | Text Commentary |Day 1 Report).

 

Ian Bishop after the Day's play: "The last time West Indies came here in 2011, they lost the plot after reaching position of strength. That is something that Darren Sammy and his team want to improve this time around. Sammy, although has improved his batting in the last couple of years, but his defensive skills with the bat are not up to the mark, so that cost him today. It will be hard work for the West Indians tomorrow as this is a star studded Indian line-up."

 

16:12 (IST) West Indies' top-scorer Marlon Samuels after Day's play: "Runs are still important, we were looking for 350-400 and it is disappointing not to get there. It was reversing a lot so wasn't easy to bat out there. Not too much spin as well. It's hard work to get runs on a wicket like that."

16:01 (IST) It's stumps and India are 37 for no loss, trail West Indies' (234) by 197 runs.

15:53 (IST) Debutant Sheldon Cottrell is struggling to find a disciplined line and length. He is either too full and wide or too short of length. India 34/0 after 10 overs.

15:43 (IST) Shikhar Dhawan goes for a full blooded sweep that hits Kieran Powell at short leg. Powell gets some medical attention. Meanwhile, here is another goof-up made by the Cricket Association of Bengal surrounding the frenzy around Sachin Tendulkar - After 'Sachine', Eden Gardens welcomes Mr Anjali.

15:38 (IST) Factoid: Mohd Shami's 4/71 are the best figures by an Indian paceman on debut on the opening day of a Test since Mohd Nissar's 5/93 at Lords in 1932.

15:30 (IST) Spin for the first time and Shane Shillingford bowls a maiden to Murali Vijay. India 25/0 after 5 overs.

15:18 (IST) First four for Murali Vijay, flicks Tino Best past mid wicket for a boundary. India 17/0 (2.1 overs) in reply to West Indies' 234 all out.

15:10 (IST) Replica start for India as Dhawan gets a thickish outside edge and it goes past gully for four.

15:06 (IST) Players make their way out there in the middle as the Eden crown gives a huge roar to Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay.

 

15:02 (IST) FACTOID: Mohd Shami has best bowling figures for an Indian debutant at Eden Gardens. He beats Ghulam Ahmed's 4/94 against West Indies in 1948.

14:56 (IST) WICKET! Mohd Shami finishes it off as debutant Sheldon Cottrell is bowled (0). West Indies are 234 all out in 78 overs. Mohd Shami ends up with figures of 4 for 71 in his maiden Test outing.

14:50 (IST) R Ashwin strikes to remove Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 36 off 79 balls. Second wicket for Ashwin today and the visitors are 9 down for 233 after 77 overs.

14:40 (IST) And Tino Best breaks the shackles with a couple of fours off Pragyan Ojha. West Indies 230/8 after 75 overs.

14:20 (IST) Fiery pacer Tino best is the new man in for the West Indies. Best's highest score in Tests is a 95 against England, which he scored batting at No.11 at Edgbaston in June last year.

14:15 (IST) WICKET! R Ashwin invites the drive from Veerasammy Permaul (14) and the batsman gives a straight catch towards the bowler. First wicket for Ashwin today. West Indies 211/8 after 68 overs.

14:10 (IST) Veerasammy Permaul drives Sachin through the covers and the visitors bring up their 200. West Indies 205/7 after 66 overs.

14:07 (IST) Sachin comes in for another over and Chanderpaul non-chalantly dabs it towards point and takes a single.

14:01 (IST) Sachin's fifth ball - no run as new man Veerasammy Permaul lets it go through. Sixth ball - a googly and the batsman has no clue about it.

13:52 (IST)

another "i was there" moment for the crowd at the eden gardens. leg break, googly, plumb lbw for sachin!

- Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 6, 2013

13:39 (IST) WICKET! Sachin traps Shane Shillingford LBW for 5 (39 balls) on the fourth ball. West Indies 192/7 as umpires have called for tea. Sachin now has 201 wickets in international cricket, his 46th in Test cricket. Mark Boucher was his 45th wicket in Tests.

 

Third ball - another leg break which spins away, Shillingford defends on the back foot.

 

Second ball - A big spinning googly which the batsman misses and foxes Dhoni as well and goes for four byes

 

First ball - is a leg break by Sachin but it doesn't turn. Defended on on the front foot by Shane Shillingford.

 

13:37 (IST): Sachin Tendulkar is going to bowl now! He's taking the taping off his bowling hand and Eden Gardens has a huge roar.

13:30 (IST) Sachin Facts: Former BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur helped amend the rules of the iconic Cricket Club of India to enable Sachin Tendulkar become a playing member at just 15.

13:22 (IST) Eden Gardens factoid: Of the last six Tests at this venue, India have won four, lost one and drawn one.

13:10 (IST) Shivnarine Chanderpaul seems to have broken the bail while marking his guard in his customary fashion, hammering it at the crease mark. The umpire has ordered for new bail and play resumes. West Indies 176/6 after 54 overs.

13:02 (IST) A the Indian bowlers continue their domination over the visitors, Sourav Ganguly revisited the Greg Chappell saga, bringing Sachin Tendulkar in to the picture. Read here.

12:58 (IST) WICKET! Darren Sammy (16) throws it away, against the run of play, tries to go over long off but finds Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the spot. Pragyan Ojha picks up his first wicket. New man in is Shane Shillingford. West Indies 172/6 after 51 overs.

12:57 (IST) Mohd Shami is getting the ball to reverse but that is not stopping Darren Sammy to take his chances.

12:48 (IST) Excellent batting by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who thanks to his innocuous stance, gets into position quickly to flay Mohd Shami for couple of boundaries past cover point. Following which, Dhoni has stationed a deep sweeper cover in place. Windies 161/5.

12:40 (IST) The West Indies's scorecard has changed dramatically in the post lunch session. Three wickets for 40 in the last hour of play. Mohd Shami, the wrecker-in-chief for the West Indies with 3 wickets so far.

 

12:32 (IST) WICKET! Mohd Shami is on fire as Denesh Ramdin is bowled. The ball is starting to reverse and it tailed into Ramdin who had no clue and the hits timber. West Indies 143/5.

12:28 (IST) WICKET! Darren Bravo is run out. School-boyish stuff from Bravo, who takes a few steps but Chanderpaul was interested in a single, a sharp Mohd Shami at square leg throws at the striker's end and Dhoni whips the bails off. West Indies 138/4

12:23 (IST) WICKET! Mohd Shami breaks the partnership and dismisses dangerman Marlon Samuels. The ball stayed a bit low and went through his defence. Samuels made 65 off 98 balls. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the new man in. West Indies 138/3

 

12:17 (IST) Dhoni drops Samuels: Samuels goes for a late cut off Pragyan Ojha and Dhoni fails to hold on to it, wasn't the most difficult catch. West Indies 134/2.

12:05 (IST) Sachin Tendulkar signs autographs for the ball boys at the boundary line. During 1987 World Cup, Sachin was a ball boy himself.

12:00 (IST) Sachin Factoid: Sunil Gavaskar gave Sachin ultra-light pads when he was 14. However, they were stolen when Sachin was attending an under-15 camp in Indore.

11:54 (IST) Meanwhile, here is what the world's fastest man and Jamaican athletics superstar Usain Bolt has to say about the Master Blaster - "I hope Sachin scores a hundred and West Indies win the series. "It's beyond spectacular that Sachin's been playing for so long. The constant will and determination in striving for excellence is what separates Sachin from the rest. It is hard not to miss Lara or Sachin when he retires because of the style and class they both played with. But I am confident that their contribution to the sports will only provide motivation to the other cricketers coming up today to want to be like them or even greater. Brian and Sachin were the class batsmen growing up and in my book both will go down in history as two of the greatest batsmen ever."

11:48 (IST) Fifty for Marlon Samuels, 19th in Test cricket, off just 61 balls. Samuels, who scored his first test century here in Kolkata, is averaging 88 at Eden Gardens. West Indies 118/2 after 35 overs.

11:43 (IST) Sachin Tendulkar's football skills save two runs at the long-leg boundary after Darren Bravod threaded the gap between forward short square-leg and backward square-leg. West Indies 113/2 after 34 overs.

11:30 (IST)

Sachin Tendulkar is playing his 199th Test match. Rest of his teammates: 177 Test matches #IndvsWI

- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) November 6, 2013

11:20 (IST) Ian Bishop on Chris Gayle's dismissal: "Gayle has got out in this manner in the recent past, getting caught behind and in the slips. This is an issue with him since the Champions Trophy and the tri-series at home. He will have to address this playing away from the body problem to tighten his game in Tests.

 

11:10 (IST) Sunil Gavaskar at the lunch break: "Darren Bravo is playing smart cricket here by playing himself in and looking for a big innings, that could be crucial. India seamers have been more impressive than the spinners today. Marlon Samuels has played with freedom and put the pressure on Pragyan Ojha by attacking him."

11:00 (IST) Samuels (45* off 55 balls) and Bravo (16* off 71 balls) take Windies to 107 for 2 at lunch on Day 1 at Eden Gardens. Around 30,000 people at the Eden Gardens now, crowd slowly building up.

10:52 (IST) A free-flowing cover drive by Marlon Samuels off Bhuvneshwar Kumar brings up the 100 for the West Indies. Meanwhile, the fifty partnership is up between Samuels and Darren Bravo. Windies 102/2 after 30 overs.

10:45 (IST) Loud cheer by the Eden Gardens crowd as Sachin Tendulkar fields the ball and jogs back to the boundary where he is stationed.

10:40 (IST) SIX! After 41 balls for just 3 runs, Darren Bravo breaks the shackles with a four and a six off R Ashwin. West Indies 97/2 after 27 overs.

10:36 (IST) SIX! Marlon Samuels has nice big swing at it and the ball lands over long off. Next ball, Samuels goes for a free-flowing drive past covers for four.

10:30 (IST) Interestingly, it was Ishant Sharma who gave the Test cap to debutant Mohd Shami earlier today. Rohit Sharma received his Test cap from Sachin.

10:28 (IST) Latest from the Eden Gardens - Sachin's wife Anjali Tendulkar has just entered the arena.

10:24 (IST) SIX! Marlon Samuels goes down the track and clobbers Pragyan Ojha's first ball for a six over long-on. West Indies 75/2 after 20 overs.

10:16 (IST) Shami asking questions again, deceives Samuels but the thick edge does not carry to second slip, who fumbles and the ball goes past third man for four. West Indies 66/2 after 18.4 overs.

10:10 (IST) Close shout for caught behind by Mohd Shami but Marlon Samuels survives. Samuels, meanwhile, hits Shami for two fours, one past third man after opening the face of the bat and one past point. West Indies 61/2 after 17 overs.

09:59 (IST) WICKET! First Test wicket for Mohd Shami. He bowls a well directed bouncer to Kieran Powell, who miscues a pull, only to be caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar at mid-off. West Indies 2 down for 47 in 15th over.

09:52 (IST) Kieran Powell hits two fours off Bhuvneshwra Kumar. First, he drives it between mid-wicket and mid-on for four and then punches one down the ground for four. West Indies 47/1 after 13 overs.

09:42 (IST) WICKET! Chris Gayle is gone, caught by Murali Vijay at second slip off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Gayle made 18 from 32 balls and was looking far from comfortable out there. West Indies 34/1 after 10.1 overs.

09:37 (IST) SIX! Kieran Powell hammers R Ashwin

09:30 (IST) FACTOID: West Indian debutant Sheldon Cottrell is a left hand fast bowler. He is 24 years old and plays first-class cricket for Jamaica. He has 43 wickets in 19 first class ties with a best of 5/43.

09:24 (IST) Signs of 'two-paced' track visible early as Gayle gets a faint inside edge and it goes past the fine leg for four. This, after a flicked Mohd Shami past mid-wicket four. West Indies 23/0 after 6 overs.

09:20 (IST) Inspite of rain in past week here, the Eden Gardens outfield is quite fast. Another outside edge by Gayle goes for four, past third man.

09:10 (IST) Decent start for Mohd Shami in his first over in Test cricket, gets late swing and a bit of seam movement as Kieran Powell faces him. Mohd Shami was the leading wicket-taker for India A on their tour of West Indies in 2012. He took 13 wickets in 3 'unofficial Tests' at an average of 18.84.

09:05 (IST) Bhuvneshwar's first ball is edged by Gayle and it goes between second slip and gully for four past third man. West Indies 4/0 after 1 over.

09:00 (IST) All in readiness now as Bhuvneshwar Kumar to ball to Chris Gayle.

08:50 (IST) FACTOID: Rohit Sharma makes his Test debut after playing 108 one-day internationals. Rohit was supposed to make a Test debut back in 2010 against South Africa but he got injured while playing football on the morning of the first day.

 

08:45 (IST): Former India captain Sourav Ganguly says Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a veteran of 148 Tests, brings solidity to the West Indies line-up, Chris Gayle and Darren  Bravo also crucial in the batting attack.

 

Playing XIs

West Indies: 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: Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Mohammed Shami.

08:35 (IST) Darren Sammy at toss: "We'll bat even as 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 practice game here. Two changes for us, Kemar Roach has not recovered and pacer Sheldon Cottrell will make his debut. Narsingh Deonarine is not playing."

 

Dhoni at toss: "The pacers might get a bit of help at the start, then spinners will come into play later. 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 Mohd Shami."

08:30 (IST) Darren Sammy wins toss and West Indies will bat against India at Eden Gardens. Mohd Shami also makes debut.

 

08:20 (IST) Latest news from the Eden Gardens is that Rohit Sharma will make his Test debut today. He receives his Test cap from none other than Sachin Tendulkar.

08:15 (IST) Pitch Report: Because of all the rain recently, due to which the Ranji Trophy tie was called off, 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 assistance as the game goes on.

 

Match Preview:

Rarely has a cricket Test been so overshadowed by events centered around one man as the India-West Indies game beginning at the Eden Gardens here Wednesday. And rarely has the game's oldest and longest format been played before a full house recently. But then, neither of the two was unexpected once the two-Test engagement got billed as the farewell series of the "god of cricket".

Ever since the Indian cricket board formally announced the matches, the buzz was that it could turn out to be Sachin Tendulkar's final hurrah. His formal announcement last month calling time on his dazzling 24-year Test career after the two Tests has seen the eruption of a volcanic emotion across India, with cricketing authorities, corporates and politicians vying to devise ingenious ways to bid adieu to the genius.

Tendulkar himself chose his Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium home as the venue for his 200th and last match, to be preceded by the one at the Eden - his "second home".

A party has started at the hallowed Eden, and a cricket - no, Sachin - mania is sweeping West Bengal and its capital city Kolkata. (Check the complete list of events here).

The teams (from):

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma.

West Indies: Darren Sammy (Captain), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sheldon Cotterell, Narsingh Deonarine, Kirk Edwards, Chris Gayle, Veersammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford, Chadwick Walton.

Umpires: Nigel Long (England) and Richard Kettleborough (England)
Third umpire: Vineet Kulkarni (India)

(Read full preview)

Watch: Sachin won't be distracted by the hype around Eden Test, say Sunil Gavaskar, VVS Laxman (Watch)

Sachin Tendulkar: A passage through Eden Gardens

For the man who has scored more runs than anyone else in the world, Kolkata's Eden Gardens hasn't exactly been a happy hunting ground. However, that's just by the Sachin Tendulkar's standards. The Master Blaster's record at Eden is actually better than many other former Indian Test batsmen like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin and Kolkata's cricket son Sourav Ganguly.

He may not have set Eden Gardens on fire, but one of Sachin's two Test hundred in the City of Joy came against the same side he will play in the penultimate match of his career, West Indies. In 2002, Sachin made 176 in the 2nd innings of the Kolkata Test, and went on to save the match for India, helping India claim a 2-0 series win. (Read more)

Join NDTV in wishing the legend: Click here

Pics Gallery: Indians sweat it out on eve of Sachin Tendulkar's penultimate Test.

Honour to be part of Sachin Tendulkar's farewell Test series: Darren Sammy

Like his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy said his team was trying to "block out" all the distractions due to Sachin Tendulkar's retirement frenzy and concentrate on cricket. Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Sammy said West Indies were better prepared and will play good cricket in the two-Test series starting at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.

"We have come back here much more experienced since we lost 2-0 here. We are in a better frame of mind and better prepared now. Glad to get the opportunity to play versus India in a series that will bring curtains down on Sachin's career," said Sammy.

Kolkata has been in grip of Tendulkar mania since the 40-year-old will be playing his 199th and penultimate Test in the City of Joy. (Read more)

There is no 'e' in Sachin: MS Dhoni spells it clear for CAB

What's in a name? A lot when the person in question is none other than batting great Sachin Tendulkar who will play his 199th Test match at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.

So when India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni pointed out an error in Sachin's spelling on a banner above the scoreboard during the team's practice session Tuesday, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) officials swung in to action to erase a major cause of embarrassment - an unwelcome 'e' at the end of Sachin.

"Pehle ye batao Sachin ki naam ki spelling galat kisne likhi? (First answer this: who wrote Sachin's spelling wrong?)," Dhoni remarked while entering the ground. (Read more)

Fever 199: Only for Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is reportedly displeased with the frenzied celebrations surrounding his 199th Test - starting at the Eden Gardens from Wednesday. While he may consider the game to be bigger than an individual, Cricket Association of Bengal has gone several extra miles to make the event memorable. Here are the highlights of the Sachin Tendulkar mania in Kolkata:

* Miss You Sachin - an album by a city-based artist - will be played at the ground during the course of the 1st Test match against West Indies.
* A photo exhibition of 100 images depicting highlights of Tendulkar's career was unveiled on Monday.
* Three light aircrafts will shower 199 kgs of rose petals after the proceedings on the final day of the Test. The player, on arrival in the city, was greeted with 199 roses as well.
* Tendulkar will be presented by a silver 'banyan' tree with 199 gold leaves at a function.
* A specially designed gold coin - with Tendulkar's head shot - will be used for the toss. Permission yet to be sought for it.
* A huge wax statute of Tendulkar has been placed just outside the dressing room.
* Massive cut-outs of Tendulkar have been put up around the Eden Gadens.
* A famous sweet shop in the city has made a 2.3 kg shondesh showing Tendulkar with his bat. Another restaurant has a menu named after the player.
* A tableau in honour of Tendulkar was flagged off on Sunday and this will travel all around the city till the final day of the Test match.
* It has been planned that 200 giant screens will be placed all around the city.
* Special placards will be placed on every seat and when raised together by spectators, will show a giant Tendulkar image from an aerial view.
* Match tickets have been printed with image of the legendary cricketer.
* Brochures highlighting Tendulkar's achievements will be distributed at the venue on the opening day of the Test.
* Some reports suggest plans of 199 night lanterns floating in the air on Day 3 of the Test.