AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters)
England coach Duncan Fletcher hopes his side can rally from their demoralising defeat in the first Test but fears that the Ahmedabad pitch will play into the hands of India's spinners.

Fletcher said England had managed to fight back in Sri Lanka earlier this year in similar circumstances to take the series.

"In Sri Lanka we lost the first one, got a hammering," he said. "But the boys just got stuck in and came from there. Hopefully we can do it again."

England lost the first Test in Mohali by 10 wickets inside four days, with leg-spinner Anil Kumble and offspinner Harbhajan Singh sharing 15 wickets. The second Test starts on Tuesday.

Fletcher said of the Ahmedabad pitch: "There is a little bit of grass which holds the surface together. It looks like it might crack up."

Fletcher said England's batsmen had done well in recent series against Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq. He added, though: "Murali turns it a lot more than Singh. In Pakistan we played Mushtaq out, but here, because there are two spinners, they are more potent. Two coming at you rather than one."

Fletcher said England left-arm spinner Ashley Giles was likely to return from injury to partner young offspinner Richard Dawson.

"The chances (of Giles playing) are very good. He is upbeat," he said.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd