Sachin Tendulkar does the honours with the Test caps.
Darren Sammy wins the toss and opts to bat first.
Here are the teams for today.
India: Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli, Sharma, Dhoni, Ashwin, Bhuvaneshwar, Shami, Ojha.
West Indies: Gayle, Powell, Bravo, Samuels, Chanderpaul, Ramdin, Sammy, Shillingford, Permaul, Cotterrell, Best.
It's Sachin Tendulkar's second last Test match and we will get to see him field before he gets a chance to bat.
As we wait for the match to get started here are some stories from our sports team on Sachin Tendulkar who will be playing his penultimate Test match.
The end begins: Test series starting today will go down in history as Sachin Tendulkar's swansong writes Derek Abraham. Read story
West Indies strike bowler Kemar Roach not playing due to an injury.
Watch a video on the frenzy ahead of Sachin Tendulkar's final Test series.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar bowls as Chris Gayle hits a 4 to start the series.
The umpires for today are Nigel Llong and Richard Kettleborough.
Keiron Powell is Gayle's opening partner in the match.
Debutante Mohammed Shami with the ball to share the new ball with Kumar.
Here is an infographic that sets up the Test match well.
Sheldon Cotterell is also making his debut today for West Indies.
The news from Twitter is that many Sachin related hashtags are trending.
There's #ThankYouSachin #SachinSachin and the great batsman's name and surname.
The match hastag #IndvsWI is also trending on Twitter India.
Read this awesome article by Derek Abraham: At Eden Gardens, Sachin Tendulkar is just one short of 200.
A glimpse of Sachin Tendulkar as he runs behind a well hit shot from Chris Gayle that is headed to the boundary.
The score is moving at a brisk rate and is now at 19/0.
Chris Gayle has scored a solid 17 out of the total runs.
A spinner into the attack as MS Dhoni tosses the ball to R Ashwin for a break.
A 22-member television commentators' panel that includes Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh, would bring to the drawing rooms every detail of "Master Blaster" Sachin Tendulkar's penultimate Test at the Eden Gardens.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar gets it right to remove danger man Chris Gayle.
West Indies are 34/1 as they lose their opener.
Darren Bravo comes in to bat.
Chants of Sachin, Sachin from the crowds as West Indies are 39/1 after 12 overs.
Mohammed Shami gets his first Test wicket as Kieron Powell falls for 28 runs.
Both the West Indian openers are back in the hut as Marlon Samuels comes out in the middle with the Indian opening seamers red hot after each of them manage to get a wicket.
A huge appeal but is given not out.
The score is now 61/2 in 17 overs.
The score has reached 69/2 as Samuels bats with Bravo.
Pragyan Ojha in the attack and he is hit for a 6 by Marlon Samuels.
Spin from both ends now as Ashwin and Ojha work in tandum.
Thousands of fans came to the Eden Gardens to see Sachin Tendulkar play his penultimate Test match. For some, the experience is equivalent to a "pilgrimage", while for others it is "an experience of a lifetime".
The two-Test series against the West Indies will bring down the curtains on Tendulkar's illustrious 24-year-long career. The cricketer will be playing his 199th Test here and his 200th and last match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai Nov 14-18.
Daubed in colours of the Indian flag, donning headbands and waving the tricolour, residents gathered outside the arena-wrapped in security-since early morning. Many were seen with a wig resembling Tendulkar's curly hair.
Chants of "Sachin Sachin" resonated across the venue as officers of Kolkata police manned entrances and kept vigil. While some were fervently wishing a century from their favourite, others just wanted to catch a glimpse.
Despite it being a weekday, Sachin mania drew fans from their offices.
There was loud cheering for "local boy" Mohammed Shami, who is making his Test match debut for India. Among the cheerers was Indian woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami.
Everytime Sachin Tendulkar is shown on the big screens fans in the stadium start cheering crazily for the man who has dominated cricket and the heart of Indian fans for 24 years.
West Indies pass the 100 mark with Bravo 15, Samuels 41.
Marlon Samuels is playing agressively, came after Bravo and already has scored more runs than him, nears half-century.
How many runs will Sachin Tendulkar make in his farewell Test match?
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Last over before lunch. Was a mixed session, India got 2 wickets while for West Indies, the 100 is up.
Lunch on Day 1 as West Indies end the session with 107/2.
Marlon Samuels batting on 45, Darren Bravo on 16. Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have a wicket each.
Here is what you can look forward to in the coming days of this Test match in Kolkata.
Post-lunch session is set to start.
The runs continue to flow.
Marlon Samuels brings up his half-century in 61 balls.
Interestingly, the Eden Gardens are the same ground where he scored his first century. Will Marlon Samuels score another ton here in Kolkata?
Marlon Samuels' attacking knock has helped his team to recover from early damage with both openers back in the pavilion.
Samuels with steady-looking Darren Bravo has rebuilt the West Indies innings with an unbroken partnership.
The Eden Gardens have seen half-empty stands as many chose to stay way.
With some visible and wide cracks on the wicket, Sammy who won the toss did not hesitate to bat up front as the visitors went with with two frontline pacers and two spinners, giving a maiden Test cap to left-arm seamer Sheldon Cotterrell.
The slow and dead Eden turner behaved nothing differently and was uninspiring for the bowlers. The ball stayed low while the odd one rose as India began with Bhuvneshwar and Shami.
Some healthy maiden overs for India.
Marlon Samuels survives as MS Dhoni fails to take a difficult chance behind the stumps.
The score is 143/2 after 23 overs.
Mohammed Shami gets his second wicket of the match and his career, removes settled Marlon Samuels for 65.
West Indies most experienced batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul steps out to bat.
Run out as the other settled batsman, Darren Bravo goes for a suicidal run and is out.
Dinesh Ramdin comes in with West Indies at 138/4.
More drama, a missed chance as West Indies seem in trouble.
More trouble for the visitors as Mohammed Shami gets wicket No3.
Denesh Ramdin falls for a duck.
Too much drama and the ball is reverse swinging.
Captain Darren Sammy is now in the middle.
India are right back in the game. Three quick wickets.
Chanderpaul and Sammy try to rebuild after the quick fall of wickets.
The score is 167/5 in 50 overs.
Darren Sammy falls to Pragyan Ojha. West Indies struggling at 172/6.
Chanderpaul has to bat out of his skin with Shillingford.
Apparently the CAB welcomed Anjali Tendulkar by referring to her as Mr. Read the story
Shivnarine Chanderpaul holds fort as West Indies reach 183/6.
Sachin Tendulkar is thrown the ball by MS Dhoni and he gets a wicket.
Wicket No46 for the cricket legend Shillingford falls as the umpires call for tea.
As the players return Chanderpaul is joined by Permaul in the middle.
And the 200 run mark is crossed.
R Ashwin gets Permaul out as the score is now 211/8.
West Indies' most dependable batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is at the crease.
Here is the video of Sachin as he got his first wicket, today:
This was Sachin's 46th Test scalp.
It was a dream come true for talented India batsman Rohit Sharma who not only made his Test debut at the iconic Eden Gardens but got his cap from none other than batting great Sachin Tendulkar.
Three players made their debuts - Sharma and pacer Mohammad Shami for India and lanky left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell.
Shami got his test cap from pacer Ishant Sharma, who could not make it to the playing XI owing to his poor form.
Rohit Sharma made his ODI debut in 2007, made his much delayed Test debut after playing 108 games.
The Mumbai right-hander comes into the side at the back of a Man of the Series wining performance in the recent bilateral ODI series against Australia, which included a whirlwind double ton.
Shami’s ascent to Test arena was relatively quicker. He made his ODI debut against Pakistan earlier this year, scalping 17 wickets, and also did well in the ODI series against Australia.
The pacer immediately repaid the faith shown by the selectors as he made quick inroads into the West Indies line up troubling its batsman with pace and movement.
The 24-year-old medium-pacer Cottrell bowler replaced an injured Kemar Roach and has played 19 first-class matches taking 43 wickets.
Best, Chanderpaul hold on with West Indies at 226/8.
Another wicket for R Ashwin as he removes West Indies last hope, Shivnaire Chanderpaul goes.
The visitors now languish at 233/9.
Mohammed Shami removes Cottrell and West Indies all out for 234.
Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan open for India.
Dhawan starts things off with a 4.
Vijay and Dhawan smack the 4s. India at 23/0 in 3 overs.
Marlon Samuels was the top scorer for West Indies with 65 while Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 36.
Despite the unprecedented frenzy and hype surrounding it, Sachin Tendulkar’s final appearance at the Eden Gardens did not live up to its billing at least on the first day of the India-West indies Test as half empty stands of the hallowed stadium greeted the maestro.
According to official estimates, the 65,000-plus capacity stadium witnessed an attendance of 33,000.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) earlier claimed that it would be a sellout crowd.
Dhawan has scored 15 and Vijay is on 13.
Injury concerns as Kieran Powell is hit on the knee.
Play resumes as Vijay and Dhawan continue their run fest.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched a campaign on social networking site Twitter that will allow fans worldwide to connect and say thank you to Sachin Tendulkar.
During the ongoing Test series between India and the West Indies, all Twitter users who send an appreciative message for Sachin to the @BCCI handle with the #ThankYouSachin hashtag will instantaneously receive a Tweet from @BCCI with a picture of Sachin, including a personalized message and signature in his handwriting, the BCCI said in a statement.
Since @BCCI announced the integration in a series of Tweets on Wednesday morning, thousands of fans have participated, including several cricketers like Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir, to receive their own personal picture of Sachin.
@BCCI is encouraging its audiences to connect and tweet multiple times - via the web, TV and more - as there are many different images and messages that fans can avail of. The integration will be live, while the Kolkata and Mumbai Tests are being played. The service is supported by Twitter India and Digigraph.
"Twitter has changed the way our fans, here and everywhere, stay connected to our sport and its personalities. We at the BCCI have always believed and invested in the power of mobile, digital and social. On the occasion of Sachin Tendulkar's retirement, we're delighted to work with Twitter and Digigraph and offer our fans this opportunity to thank Sachin and take home a piece of history," said BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel.
Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan unbeaten as India end Day 1 of First Test against West Indies at 37/0.
India earlier dismissed West Indies for 234.
Rohit Sharma is making his Test debut as is seamer Mohammed Shami.