Kolkata, India — Nearly a mile before the Eden Gardens, there are giant hoardings lining the roads. Each of them adorns a picture of Sachin Tendulkar, plucked from the umpteen memories that he has given his fans during a 24-year-long career. It doesn’t end here though.

Three road intersections leading to the stadium are blaring loud music. Listen carefully and the singer, in a husky yet shrill voice, is praising Tendulkar and his many feats. Step away from the hullabaloo and into the administrative building, there is more. A wax statue of the Master Blaster at the doorstep of the Indian dressing room, along with a giant vanilla cake and another one with 199 tri-coloured Sandesh, Kolkata’s famous sweet speciality.

After a point it becomes bothersome. To think that Sachin Tendulkar himself expressed displeasure regarding this over-the-top celebration, it reaffirms faith in the maestro and his methods for more than 20 years now. On Tuesday, he was busy with his teammates, preparing for his penultimate Test match, oblivious to the ruckus that had been created in his name.

Team India would have had an impatient night ahead of the toss. There is just a lot going on off-the-field and it is very easy to get distracted. This is especially in the first session of the match, where games can never be won, but easily lost. The Indian batsmen have had a field run playing limited-overs cricket since March and they have been quite successful. This change in format is abrupt and they need to adapt rapidly.

The Indian bowling is a bit of a question mark, regardless of the format being played. In the ODIs, they were clueless on benign pitches and rudderless when faced with the new field-placement rules. The Eden Gardens wicket is expected to be a slow turner and MS Dhoni furtively hinted at playing five bowlers, despite the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.

“There seems to be a little moisture on the surface. We will take a look again ahead of the toss and then decide whether to play five bowlers or not,” he said, in the pre-match conference.

It means that India will fiddle with the idea of going in with Amit Mishra in order to boost their bowling resources on a pitch that might not be too troublesome for the batsmen as the match wears on. In case they don’t, Rohit Sharma should get the nod ahead of Ajinkya Rahane, because no one can ignore the simple fact that he scored a double hundred in his last innings, irrespective of the format.

At least thinking about team selection in the evening prior will help maintain some calm and bring in some sanity to the Indian team’s surroundings. The hype over Sachin Tendulkar’s last appearance at the Eden Gardens is a magnetic force that is drawing everyone in, the Indian team included. And therein lies the opportunity for the visitors to spring a surprise.

“We are honoured to be part of this Test series after which Sachin Tendulkar will bring down the curtains on his glorious career,” said West Indies skipper Darren Sammy. “But first and foremost, we are here to play good Test cricket and compete hard. We are here to win.”

The visitors arrived for practice post-lunch. It was a calmer situation than in the morning, with fewer fans around and even lesser attention diverted towards the practising players. In a way, it identifies with their arrival in this country. They landed when India were busy playing Australia and while Sachin Tendulkar fine-tuned his batting in the opening Ranji Trophy round, Sammy’s team jousted with Uttar Pradesh at a local cricket ground here in the city.

The match ended in a draw but provided some grease work to the team, playing its first Test since March. Not to mention, the distractions only help their cause. While Eden Gardens is busy celebrating Sachin Tendulkar, they can quietly go about making inroads into the Indian eleven, be it with the bat or the ball. Sammy expressed his intention to play ‘two spinners and a bowling all-rounder’ which already provides a more balanced look to their attack when compared with the Indians.

A majority of their batsmen are no strangers to these conditions. Chris Gayle rules the summer with his IPL antics and bats much the same way in Tests as well. Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo have both visited these shores in the past and gained experience. The real danger comes from another journeyman. Since 2007, he averages 70.58 in the five-day game. Against India, whose bowling attack has a perennial discomfort against left-handed batsmen, he averages 65.74 in 23 Tests. In India alone, he has scored 491 runs in six matches at an average of 54.55.

Just like Sachin Tendulkar he stands on the cusp of a personal milestone as well, playing his 149th Test at Eden Gardens. As he went through his preparation routine, there was a distinct calm surrounding him, and in it, a warning for team India.