West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase says they are better-prepared to tackle young Indian batsman Prithvi Shaw, whose initial onslaught had set the tone for their embarrassing defeat in the first Test, PTI reported.
Young Shaw scored a century on debut, playing a key role in India’s big win in the series-opener. “I am sure our guys would have learnt quickly from what happened in the first Test and we will know some of the strengths of the young Shaw, who really took us apart early in the game. I am sure we will learn from our mistakes in the first game and move on smartly in the second game,” Chase said on the eve of the second Test.
While there is a plan in place for Shaw, Chase didn’t want to divulge. “We had a long chat after the first Test and came up with some plans. We discussed how we are looking to bowl at him in the second Test along with some of the other batters. I can’t obviously discuss our plans. I think we have a better idea of what we are looking to do against him.”
One of the positives going into the second Test is the presence of senior-most pacer Kemar Roach and captain Jason Holder. “It’s always good to have the captain back. I am not sure what the line-up will be for the next match. Can’t really say who is playing but it’s really good to have Kemar Roach back, a very senior player and brings a lot of experience to the team. So yeah, it’s good to have both of them back.
Chase also explained the reasons for his team’s batting debacle in the first Test. “Firstly, India scoring 600-odd runs. It was always going to be a hard task for us to comeback and surpass that score. I thought that on the first afternoon that we batted, guys were a bit tired having fielded so many overs. But after that, I thought we didn’t really apply ourselves on the pitch.
“We didn’t really mix the aggression with defence and weren’t really in control of some of the shots that we were playing. We attacked early and then when they set the field back, I thought that’s where we struggled after they took away our boundary options. I thought we didn’t really rotate the strike as well as we should, and that was what really led to our downfall.”
He also admitted that playing with two inexperienced pacers Keemo Paul and Sherman Lewis also contributed to the defeat as they were unable to control the rampaging Indian batsmen.
“The bowling, it was always going to be hard coming in with two new very inexperienced bowlers, having lost our captain and Roach had to go back home. It was always going to hard to contain the batsmen, especially in the pace department. But it is Test cricket, you have to learn quickly.”
