Raina cherishes success in difficult conditions

Cricket365
July 27, 2014

Captain Suresh Raina welcomed residual rewards – and a two-nil series win – after India's third and final ODI against Bangladesh ended in a washout at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday.

Captain Suresh Raina welcomed residual rewards after India's third and final ODI against Bangladesh ended in a washout at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday.

An Indian batting order minus the services of the rested Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja struggled to successfully combat a spirited opposition bowling attack – and difficult conditions – throughout the brief tour.

The collective ability to craft a series victory, regardless, though, promised plenty ahead of a very testing series against England later this year and the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

"Especially in the sub-continent, I haven't seen a wicket do this much in the last 10 years. It was good for the team, for the batsmen to adapt to these conditions and take it to England and Australia for the Tests and the World Cup. So I think it was a good battle between bat and ball and winning the series was important," said Raina.

"Here, rain was coming in and bowlers had a new ball at both ends. So you had to control your shots and decide when to attack and when not to. Still I think, both sides played really well, especially India."

Raina reserved particular praise for all-rounder Stuart Binny, seamer Mohit Sharma and the inexperienced Parvez Rasool and Akshar Patel. The four serviced a bowling department sans the rested Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin superbly.

"Everyone stepped up to the plate. Most importantly all the bowlers had a fantastic tour. Especially Stuart and Mohit. I think the two debutants, Parvez and Akshar, also did really well," he added.

"When you come to any tour, one thing that comes to your mind is that you need to win all the games. The series was tough, the wicket was doing something. Very happy with the boys, they did a fantastic job."