West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and opted to bowl in the first Test against India at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound in Antigua on Thursday.
The toss was delayed due to wet outfield following rain and the match started 15 minutes after the scheduled time.
India captain Virat Kohli said they would have batted anyway. "We were batting first anyway, look to put runs on the board and then attack with the ball. We know what to do in the middle, need to play consistent good cricket, no room for complacency. Mayank and KL will open in this series. Saha, Rohit, Ashwin, Kuldeep and Umesh are not playing today," Kohli said at the toss.
West Indies handed Test debut to all-rounder Shamarh Brooks who also bowls leg-spin.
"Some moisture in the wicket and we want to take advantage. We have had some solid preparations and are looking forward to this. Every series is a new series, need to do our best. We have a new guy, Shamarh Brooks, who makes his Test debut for us," Holder said.
A win in the opening Test will be the 27th for Kohli as skipper and will put him on even keel with his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni. A century in the game (19th as captain) will place him on par with Ricky Ponting.
India vs West Indies 1st Test Playing XI
India: Mayank Agarwal, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope(w), Shamarh Brooks, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Jason Holder(c), Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach
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