Captain MS Dhoni's decision to bowl first having won the toss did not please the capacity crowd in Mumbai, but Ojha's impressive display with the ball helped dismiss West Indies for just 182.
And it was not long before Tendulkar - playing in his 200th and last Test match - was at the crease, chalking up 38 runs before stumps on day one.
Ojha was in no doubt who the match belonged to.
"This match belongs to Sachin Paaji (Tendulkar), it's a special one, "he said. "All of us want him to get a lot of runs in this Test match and I don't mind getting overshadowed.
"It's a great feeling to get a five-wicket haul in a special Test match like this. Always getting a five-wicket haul in a Test match has a special place for you.
"Right now it's a special Test match going on and we are really concentrating on this one and hopefully Paaji gets a lot of runs and so do the others and then we go on the field and get the 10 more wickets."
India will resume on Friday just 25 runs behind with Tendulkar and Cheteshwar Pujara (34) in the middle.