JOIN US If the series plays out to its pattern then it’s India’s turn to win the match here on Wednesday. But even if there is a slight slip up, Australia will open up a 3-1 lead, recovering from where will be difficult for the hosts.
Suresh Raina, however, maintained India were under no pressure going into the fourth one-dayer. “We won the first game in Rajkot, then they won in Pune, and then we won again in Jaipur and they won after that,” the southpaw pointed out here on Tuesday.
“It’s a good contest between two young teams. Sometimes our batting clicks and sometimes our bowling but whoever does well on the day, whoever has good plans and is positive can win the match. It’s also important to feel good about yourself. Everyone talks about so much cricket happening, but it’s important to see how you’re feeling, how mentally strong you are,” he explained.
Raina also played down his low scores at number 4, a spot skipper MS Dhoni wants him to cement by the 2015 World Cup. “If you see in the last 150 ODIs, I’ve played at No 6. I’ve had good performances at No 4 in the matches I’ve played earlier. I’ve only played two matches now (at No 4 in this series) and it’s too early to say anything. But I’m batting well. In the last match I got in a good position but got a top-edge to the short ball. I feel good and positive and hope that in the coming matches, where No 4 is going to be my spot, I can do well.”
Raina said Indian batsmen were well-equipped to handle the short-pitched stuff from Australia. “(Mitchell) Johnson bowled well no doubt, and he had luck on his side. But we have also played a lot of matches and have our plans. There’s no doubt the batsmen have to do well in the middle-order – Yuvi paa (Yuvraj Singh), (Ravindra) Jadeja and myself. We’ll have to take responsibility and bat well,” he reasoned.
The UP batsman said he was itching to bowl but Dhoni wasn’t throwing the ball to him. “I also don’t know that,” he remarked when asked as to why he hasn’t got to bowl in the series so far. “I bowl in the nets and hopefully I’ll bowl well when I get the chance to (bowl in the match).”