Delight for Indian debutants at Eden

It was a dream come true for talented India batsman Rohit Sharma who not only made his Test debut at the iconic Eden Gardens Wednesday but got his cap from none other than batting great Sachin Tendulkar.

The first match of the two test series between India and West Indies, Tendulkar's farewell series, saw three players making 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 who 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.