India take on West Indies in the first of the two-Test series at the Saurashtra International Cricket Stadium in Rajkot from Thursday, October 4.
When does the match start and how to watch it live online
First day's play of the first Test will start from 9:30 am IST and 5 am BST.
Star Sports 1, Star Sports Hindi and Star Sports Tamil will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.
What to expect from the 1st Test
There is plenty of excitement around the two-Test series despite India starting as the overwhelming favourites to complete a whitewash of the West Indies, thanks to some bold selection calls from the host nation.
Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, two of India's most successful opening batsmen in the longest format in recent times, have been dropped following some ordinary performances in their 4-1 defeat in England.
Teenager Prithvi Shaw and youngster Mayank Agarwal have been rewarded for their consistency in the domestic circuit and the A tours.
Shaw, who is being touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket, has even been named in the 12-man squad that India had announced on the eve of the first Test and is likely to make his debut on Thursday.
With the selectors looking ahead, it's up to the likes of Shaw, Agarwal and KL Rahul to seal their spots at the top of the Indian batting order ahead of the much-anticipated tour to Australia.
Three spinners for India?
On the other hand, Umesh Yadav and Mohamed Shami will be leading the pace attack, which sees the absence of rested Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. India's pace spearhead Ishant Sharma also misses the two-Test series due to injury issues.
With all-rounder Hardik Pandya unavailable due to an injury, India are likely to play three spinners. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is expected to join finger spinners and all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin.
Led by Virat Kohli, who returns from the Asia Cup rest, India will be hoping to maintain their dominance at home.
Can in-form West Indies test India?
On the other hand, the Jason Holder-led West Indies side are heading into the Test series on the back of some impressive results at home. After managing to draw a series against Sri Lanka June, they crushed Bangladesh 2-0 in July at home.
While their pacers, including captain Holder, Kemar Roach, and Shanon Gabriel, have impressed their batting has stood up with the likes of Kraig Brathwaite, Roston Chase, and Shane Dowrich scoring heavily at home.
All eyes will be the 21-year-old aggressive middle-order batsman, Shimron Hetmeyer as he has been extremely impressive in the six Tests he has played so far for his country.
Nonetheless, conditions are going to be different in India and both the batting and the bowling unit needs to adapt and adapt quickly. Roach will be absent as he has flown back to attend a family issue and the lack of top-quality spinners is a cause for concern.
Pitch and conditions
If reports are to be believed, India have flown in curators to prepare a bouncy track that will help the hosts prepare for their tour of Australia. If the conditions are pacer friendly, India would want to give Shardul Thakur a Test debut and slot him in the playing XI in place of the third spinner.
Nonetheless, batsmen have always enjoyed the Rajkot conditions and thus both teams would be looking to bat first after winning the toss.
Team News - Probable playing XIs
India: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohamed Shami.
West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Devendra Bishoo, Keemo Paul, Sherman Lewis, Shannon Gabriel.
Global TV guide - India vs West Indies Tests
- US: Hotstar
- South Africa: SuperSport
- Australia: Yupp TV
- Bangladesh: G TV
