Chase hoping to bury Pakistan with big double
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Roston Chase says he will be targeting his maiden double hundred on Monday’s second day as he looks to put West Indies in a strong position in the second Test against Pakistan at Kensington Oval.
Playing before his home crowd on Sunday, Chase reeled off a handsome unbeaten 131 as West Indies climbed out of trouble to reach 286 for six at the close on the opening day.
The 25-year-old said he believed conditions at the venue were good enough for him to convert his innings into something special.
“The pitch is playing OK. It’s not the best pitch but it’s playing good; some balls are holding up a bit,” he told reporters afterward.
“I think it is possible for me to get a double hundred once I start well tomorrow and my partners stick around me. I think it’s possible.”
Chase arrived at the wicket with the Windies tottering on 37 for three, 45 minutes before lunch, and proceeded to anchor three key partnerships to pull them out of trouble.
He put on 65 for the fourth wicket with opener Kieran Powell who made 38, added a further 47 for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich (29) before staging a 132-run, unbroken seventh wicket stand with captain Jason Holder who ended unbeaten on 58.
Chase, who has been forced to perform rescue jobs on a few occasions during his short nine-Test career, said he was becoming familiar with the pressure role.
“It’s been happening a lot, me coming to the wicket in critical times but I guess I’m getting accustomed to it,” he said.
“I’ll be looking to go on further tomorrow, me and the captain and all the rest of the batsmen to come because we’ve set a benchmark at 350 so we’ll be trying to get that and more, to put ourselves in a capable position of putting Pakistan under some pressure and see what we can do from there.”
It was only last August that Chase stroked a magnificent unbeaten 137 in the second Test against India to force a draw under difficult circumstances on the final day at Sabina Park.
And though that innings won him wide acclaim, Chase said his second Test century here Monday was more enjoyable.
“Some say the first is always the best but I enjoyed this one a lot more because it was in front my home fans … and all my family came today to support me so I enjoyed this one a bit more.”