West Indies suffered an innings and 140-run defeat at the hands of India in the first Test match at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad last week.

The Caribbean side struggled in their first innings, posting only 162 runs on the board, with Indian fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj (4-40) and Jasprit Bumrah (3-42) doing bulk of the damage.

In reply, the hosts declared their first innings on 448/5 with a sizeable lead of 286 runs. India’s innings was headlined by centuries from KL Rahul (100), Dhruv Jurel (125) and Ravindra Jadeja (104*).

The visiting batters endured failures in the second dig as well, with their innings folding for 146 runs. The match ended in just two and a half days as India gained an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Addressing the media at the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai, batting legend Brian Lara on Tuesday (October 7) questioned West Indies' commitment to Test cricket after their crushing defeat to India in Ahmedabad.

"It (finances) is a problem because if you want to do anything, where back in 15-16 years ago, volunteerism was a big thing. You can get coaches. I was coached at Harvard coaching clinic where nobody was paid. So if you want to get things done, you have to have the capital to do it. So that is a major part. But at the same time, I would like to urge Roston Chase (West Indies captain) and the other guys to, do they have cricket at heart? Do they really want to play for the West Indies? And that is the most important thing because you would find a way," Lara said.

Responding to Chase’s comment after the Ahmedabad Test loss that West Indies cricket was hurting because it lacked in infrastructure and finances, Lara cited the example of past generations' hunger despite fewer resources as he urged current crop of players to demonstrate passion for the game.

"I mean, we did not have better facilities 30-40 years ago. Viv Richards didn’t bat on any better practice pitches or anything. We had to do the same thing, the same grind, but the passion was different. The passion to play for the West Indies was different. So I urge the young players to realise that this is a wonderful opportunity. And I am almost sure that every single one of their parents would have had in the back of their mind (that) their son (is) playing for the West Indies. Their son is doing well for the West Indies because it meant a lot back in those days. So I agree with him, but I still believe there is an onus on each young player to create that love and desire to play for the West Indies," he added.

Lara also highlighted the challenge of balancing franchise cricket with Test aspirations. "We discussed the state of West Indies cricket. The aberration of scoring 27, nobody wants to do that. But, the issue lies very deep. And it's something that Cricket West Indies is working on in terms of finding a better footing in terms of the foundation of the game, how we grow the game, the facilities that we have to improve on and finding a way for cricketers to be a lot more competitive. There's also an issue, of course, with franchise cricket and the way they pull some of the players away, weakening our strength. So again, we have to work on that. Australia is able to do it. England is able to do it to keep their players loyal to their country. So we have to find a way to do that in terms of not pointing any fingers at anybody. It's just that we've got to come together as a team, as administrators, as coaches, as players. And well and truly if you have West Indies cricket at heart, you will find a way to move forward.”

The second Test between India and West Indies is slated to be held in Delhi from October 10-14.