Didn't trust our defence as much as we should have: Brathwaite

When the No. 1 and the No. 8 teams lock horns in a Test, the gulf in quality is the least you come prepared for, but hope is an eternal emotion. Thus, when the Windies set out on their tour of India, there was a lot of hype about their pace pack having the ability to challenge the Indian batsmen. As it turned out, unfortunately for them, they didn't have two of their best at disposal for the Rajkot Test, being forced to work with Shannon Gabriel and two young pacers - who had only one Test between them. Although the lack of resources in the bowling unit went against them, the batting department was full in strength, and thus there was no room for excuses.

The tourists came into Day 3 of the first Test six down and lost the remaining four wickets in 19 overs. Asked to follow on, they were bowled out again, in less than two sessions of play, lasting barely three more overs than their first essay.

They didn't seem to learn from the mistakes they had made in the first innings with an overtly attacking style of play spelling doom for them. Three of their top six batsmen fell while trying to attack against the spinners on Saturday (October 6), while on the second day, wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and Shane Dowrich were completely against the run of play, especially of the latter's, who departed attempting a big heave with only four overs of play left in the day.

Stand-in skipper Kraigg Brathwaite wasn't too impressed with his batsmen's approach. Asked if it was the team's plan to attack the spinners and try to unsettle them, the opening batsman played it down. "Personal plan obviously in terms of attacking shots. Some of the shots from the batsmen weren't the best. We have a lot to work on," he said following the innings-and-272-run defeat in Rajkot.

While No. 8 batsman Keemo Paul's approach was comprehensible, when he went on the offensive against Kuldeep Yadav on Saturday morning, the top-order batsmen should have shown more restraint in their approach. "Going forward what we need to do is along with the attacking shots, trust in defence. I think that's the key. Obviously when the field goes back, it's a matter of still staying positive in defence also, and putting away the bad balls, stroking the ball along the ground for singles. I think we didn't trust our defence as much as we should have."

This approach surprised Ravichandran Ashwin too, who in a post-match interview with the official broadcaster, asserted that the wicket wasn't a very difficult one to bat one. "I generally believe that in the second innings, the teams put up a better fight and there are a couple of partnerships here and there usually. There was one [two - 47-run stand between Kieran Powell and Shai Hope, and Powell and Roston Chase's 41]. This wicket was slightly better, it still is, hence I was surprised, shocked is the wrong word with the amount of attacking shots, the high risk shots that were played against the spinners. Maybe it was their strategy against the spinners but it clearly didn't work this time," he said.

The Windies skipper believes there are a lot of learnings to take from India's batsmen going forward into the next Test and that it will put them in good stead. "Trust in defence and obviously when you attack, go 100% as well."

While an early finish ensures that the tourists can work those extra two days on ironing out their flaws, they seem to have been hit further by injuries. While there's no clarity over Jason Holder's fitness yet who's suffering from an ankle sprain, Shannon Gabriel too has picked up a slight niggle which kept him off the field for a majority of the day.