Suresh Raina Bring New Spirit | England vs India - Royal London ODI Series

When Suresh Raina came to England to join the ODI team, his biggest aim was to make the Indian dressing room a happy place. He wanted to bring new spirit in the side smarting from the Test series defeat and get them back on the winning track with his performances.  (Also Read: Stats Highlights: England vs India, 2nd ODI)

In the second ODI, at Cardiff, Raina did both.

He lifted the team’s batting with a 100-run knock, off 75 balls. His knock was a perfect blend of flamboyance and stubbornness. He was both ‘bindaas’ and ‘khadoos’. It was his first ODI century since 2010 and his first outside the subcontinent.  (Also Read: Centurion Raina stars in India’s victory - England vs India, 2nd ODI)

When he was in the field, Raina clapped away, egged his mates on, ran around like a spring chicken and bowled a straight, skiddy delivery to catch Chris Jordan plumb in front of the wicket. His bowling figures were 3-0-12-1.

After India’s 133-run win, Raina spoke to BCCI.TV about what motivated him to produce such brilliant performance and how he executed it.

You have hit the ground running!

I felt really good scoring my first ODI century in three years. I told you the last time we spoke that I want to bring in fresh energy in the team, and I am glad I could do that with my overall performance today. This knock is one of the most special ones for me given the circumstances and the conditions. We hadn’t won the game in a long time and to help the team break that jinx with a century was very satisfying.
  
You looked very determined and sure about yourself out there – almost like a man on a mission.

After all the work I had put into my game in Mumbai with Sachin paaji and Amre sir, I was determined to join the team and bring them some happiness, whether it is by scoring a hundred or taking a brilliant catch. I had to bring the smiles back on my teammates’ faces. I am glad I could do that today. The team’s environment is very good right now and I hop we continue this performance in the remaining matches.

How did the team get over the Test defeats?
We didn’t do well in the Test series but that doesn’t mean we are a bad team. We are ranked No. 2 in ODIs and are the reigning World Cup and Champions Trophy winners. MS did a very good job of leading the team after the Tests and maintain the confidence of the young boys. We had decided that we would run for each other and share each other’s success. That showed in our fielding performance.

Was it easy to instill that self-belief again?
Ravi Shastri gave us a lot of confidence. He came in the team meeting and said a few words to the team which were very inspiring. He was also sitting with me in the bus when we were on our way to the stadium and he told me, “khadoos khelna hai (play a stubborn game)”. There is a different comfort level when you talk to a former Indian player; you can be free and honest. All the other coaches have been very supportive as well but Ravi Shastri set the tone for us and instilled confidence in the team.

You and MS know each other’s game so well now. Does it bring a special comfort factor when you are batting with him?

The good thing about batting with MS is that he knows my game and he would never ask me to give up my natural game. At the same time, he would keep talking to me during the innings to ensure I don’t throw it away. After I got my fifty, I got a bit conscious because I hadn’t scored a century since a long time and I wanted to finish well. Rohit also got out after his fifty and I was determined to carry on till the end. So I played khadoos for a while. After a while I started to play my shots, which did disturb the bowlers’ rhythm. They struggled with their field placements and bowling areas. That’s when I knew that I was dominating them and was thinking one step ahead of them.

We were speaking about your bowling the other day. You seem to be taking it very seriously.
Yes, I bowled well and got Jordan’s wicket. Sometimes, even if you are a part-time bowler, after you bowl four-five tight overs you gain much more confidence and it becomes difficult for the batsmen to take you lightly. I have worked a lot on my bowling and I hope I get to bowl a lot in the future as well.

source: bcci.tv