Carl Hooper attributed his team's defeat in the second Test against India to the pressure on Brian Lara to emulate Indian master Sachin Tendulkar. Chasing a victory target of 313, West Indies lost by 37 runs after main hope Lara was dismissed for 47 before his home crowd at the Queen's Park Oval.

"There has been a lot of talk about this series being a showdown between Lara and Tendulkar," Hooper wrote in a regular column for the Press Trust of India (PTI). "After the Indian master's hundred in the first innings, Lara wanted one for himself. What better way than to do it in the final innings of the match and win the Test for the team.

"But going out to bat with Brian on the final day, I found he was a bit tense. Even before we padded up, I noticed he was tense. I wanted him to take the initiative, wanted him to get a bit of pressure off him by getting to push the ball away, get the momentum going. I could sense by the first couple of overs he faced, Brian was not his usual self," wrote Hooper. "Obviously, he has been wanting to do well in front of his home crowd."

Tendulkar, Lara's main rival for the title of the world's best batsman, equalled Australian legend Don Bradman's record of 29 centuries when he hit 117 on the first day.

Hooper defended his own decision to hit out on the final day which cost him his wicket to a tame catch at midwicket off Ashish Nehra. "Having watched Brian struggle in his stay, I didn't want to get bogged down," he explained. "It was one of the things I had learnt against South Africa at this venue last year. We needed 199 to win and we were guilty of being a little bit too negative. I didn't want to repeat that mistake against the Indians. If I had to wait for a bad ball, it wasn't going to come along."

Hooper, however, said that his team was capable of bouncing back in the remaining three Tests. "I put God before everything. I believe whatever happens was meant to be. You can't read too much into it. If we were supposed to win today, obviously we would have won. It is very, very disappointing. But it only strengthens my resolve and we've got to pick ourselves and bounce back. Because I think we have it in us to beat this Indian side.

"Mark my words, we will be back. Before long."

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd