West Indies skipper Roston Chase won the toss and elected to bat first in the first Test of the two-match series against the hosts, India, at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.
This two-match series is part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. This is the first Test series for Team India in the WTC. The second match of the series between the two sides will be played from October 10 to 14 at New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
After winning the toss, Roston Chase said, “We are going to bat first. Looks like a good one. There will be a bit of moisture; it is Test cricket, and we will have to handle that first couple of hours. It is a young side, we want to come out and play some good cricket. We don’t want to be batting last on this wicket, as we know it will turn. We have gone with two seamers, two spinners and an allrounder.”
At the time of the toss, Indian captain Shubman Gill said, “We have got four Tests (at home) before the end of the year, and we would like to win all four. Preparation has been good. Everyone is in great touch, it is about getting into the red-ball mindset. It looks like a very good surface. Not disappointed with losing the toss, it has been under covers and there might be some help early on. We have two seamers – Bumrah and Siraj, three spinners – Jaddu Bhai, Washington and Kuldeep, and allrounder Nitish Reddy.”
Teams:
West Indies (Playing XI): Tagenarine Chanderpaul, John Campbell, Alick Athanaze, Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk), Roston Chase (c), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Khary Pierre, Johann Layne, Jayden Seales.
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.