Making a comeback into a team after a lengthy time on the sideline is never a straightforward task. For Suresh Raina, an opportunity to play in T20 series in South Africa brought with it the added pressure of making it count. In the highly competitive world of India cricket, where there are multiple contenders for each spot, second chances don’t come easy.
In his first game back in the fold, Raina was rewarded with a place in the top-order as skipper Virat Kohli gave up his regular spot at No 3.
Raina produced confident performances in the two innings he has played so far in the series. His 30-run knock in the second T20I gave India a sound start as the openers fells early. With one more innings left, Raina will want to make most of it. That the match will be a decider to a keenly-fought series will only add weight to his performance if he does deliver. Raina, on his part, has adopted an aggressive approach to batting at No 3 and has been targeting the bowlers from the word go.
Speaking ahead of the game, Raina said he is thankful to Kohli for trusting him with the responsibility.
“It is important Virat showed that faith in me,” the 31-year-old. “In the last two games we have dominated the first six overs. It is very important to play well in the first six overs. When you look to target these overs in T20s, you have to play your shots. When there is depth in the middle order, you can afford to take chances,” he added.
ODI spot in sight
Raina said he was hopeful of making a comeback to the ODI side as well, which is struggling to find stability in the middle order. He however, stated that he was playing not for his spot but to ensure a win for the team.
“It is very important (returning to the ODI team),” Raina said. “But a team victory is more important than individual performances. I am someone who always plays for the team and if we are winning trophies then individual performances will take care of themselves. Whatever opportunity I get, I look to play my natural game.
“If you see the top order, they are all batting well. When you come to Nos 4, 5 and 6, MS is there and Manish is also doing a good job. So, we will see where I can fit in. We have lots of matches coming up,” he said.
India’s bowling, though, came under focus after the second T20I as the South Africa batsmen batted with great confidence. Heinrich Klaasen, who led the team to victory dominated leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. With Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav left out from the XI, the batsmen made merry once Chahal’s threat was negated.
Raina, though cautioned against any notions pointing towards a weak Indian bowling attack, adding that the credit for the hosts’ win lied in the ability of the batsmen and not the mistakes of the bowlers.
“Without Kuldeep, our bowling isn’t weak,” Raina said. “We have done really well as a bowling unit. Sometimes you need to credit the opposition as well. They needed to do something different when our spinners were not allowing them to score. They needed to come up with plan B and they did that.”