North Sound (Antigua): West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and chose to field first against India in the first of the two-match Test series on Thursday, August 22.
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 consistently 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.
India (Playing XI): 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 (Playing XI): Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope(w), Shamarh Brooks, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Jason Holder(c), Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach
