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London: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl in overcast conditions.
The spotlight is on Sachin Tendulkar who aims to achieve an incredible milestone of 100 international centuries in a match which has historic significance.
The first Test between number one team India and third ranked England is the 100th Test between the two sides and also the 2000th in the history of the game.
The historic venue could also become a witness to Tendulkar's 100th international century in his 22nd year in Test cricket as the champion batsman is just a ton away from achieving the feat.
But leaving aside all the historical importance associated with the Test, the four-match series is also touted as a fight between two best teams of the world for Test cricket's top position.
The fickle English weather, however, could play spoilsport as rain is predicted on all the five days of the match which has generated a lot of interest.
Tendulkar would be pivotal to India's batting in the absence of Virender Sehwag. Together with Dravid and Laxman, the champion batsman has shared over 35,000 runs in Test cricket and India's fate in the series would largely depend on the trio's performance against a potent English attack.
Since December 6, 2009 when India became number one Test team, Tendulkar has scored 1722 runs from 15 Tests. But the great man's record at Lord's is far from rosy with 37 being his highest at the 'Mecca' of cricket.
And Tendulkar, who did not play a Test since January this year, would have do much better to not only help his but also his side's cause.
Teams:
England: Andrew Strauss (Capt.), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett.
India: Mahenrdra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar.
