HYDERABAD: West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase said on Thursday the West Indies were looking to come back fighting in the second Test against India after a crushing defeat in Rajkot with the return of skipper Jason Holder and fast bowler Kemar Roach.

“We didn’t play well in the first game but are looking to fight back in the second,” Chase said a day ahead of the game at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

“Had a bit of nervous energy in the first one but guys are good to go in the second,” said Chase, top scorer with 53 in his side’s 181 all out in the first innings in Rajkot.

A hapless Caribbean side, led by opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite, went down to hosts India by an innings and 272 runs in Rajkot to trail the two-match series 1-0.

Prithvi Shaw, 18, became India’s youngest player to score a debut century and his country’s second youngest in all Tests after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, notching up a sparkling 134.

“That youngster Shaw took us apart early in the first game, so hope we can learn from our mistakes and move on smartly in the second game,” Chase said.

The major boost for the West Indies will come from the return of Roach after he missed the first Test to return home for a funeral.

Holder has recovered from an ankle injury to lead his side.

“It is always good to have the captain back, but I am not sure what the line-up will be for the next match,” Chase, who made a fighting 53 in West Indies’ first innings in Rajkot, said. “I can’t say who is playing but it’s good to have Kemar back as well, he is a senior player and brings a lot of experience to the team.”

Both Holder and Roach have played 82 matches between them and remain the team’s most experienced players.

Holder has captained West Indies in 26 of his 34 Tests. Roach has taken 163 wickets in 48 matches.

India batted only once in Rajkot, amassing 649 for nine before declaring, and West Indies crumbled under the mountain of runs to lose inside three days.

Denying India a flying start will be crucial to West Indies’ hopes of levelling the series in Hyderabad and Chase, who bowled 26 overs of off-spin for the lone wicket of Ajinkya Rahane in Rajkot, said his team would be better prepared for Shaw.

“We had a long chat after the first Test and came up with some plans,” the 26-year-old said. “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 in the conference. I think we have a better idea of what we are looking to do against him.”

Shaw’s dream debut prompted comparisons with fellow Mumbaikar and Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar.

India captain Virat Kohli, however, does not want to burden the teenager with such expectations.

“This guy is supremely talented and he has got great ability, as everyone saw,” Kohli told reporters on Thursday.

“He is a keen learner, a very sharp guy. We all are very happy for him, but I think we should not compare him to anyone yet or put him in a space where he starts feeling pressure of any kind.”

India, meanwhile, have retained the same 12 they had announced for the first Test.

Teams (from):

INDIA: Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.

WEST INDIES: Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Sunil Ambris, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Jason Holder (captain), Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo, Shannon Gabriel, Jomel Warrican, Jahmar Hamilton.

Umpires: Ian Gould (England) and Bruce Oxenford (Australia).

TV umpire; Nigel Llong (England).

Match referee: Chris Broad (England).

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018