Raina hopes new-found form remains with side

Suresh Raina said on Saturday that victory over Australia in the second T20 at the MCG here has lifted the morale of the Indian team.

“All the boys that have come as one-day specialists are young. When the fielding is good, the intensity picks up, there is a positive vibe around the team and the whole atmosphere is different,” Raina told reporters here on the eve of the first one-dayer in the tri-series.
Raina said India’s fielding played a massive part in the eight-wicket win. “That's what we saw yesterday. The fielding was very good, the throws were brilliant and everybody did well. The batting was also good. Gambhir saw us through with a fine fifty. It's a good sign.

Hopefully, we will continue that in the rest of the series,” he said.

Raina said the team has been working hard with fielding coach Trevor Penny. “We have been giving a lot of importance to fielding at the nets, and all of us are working hard with Trevor. There’s a healthy competition between us even in the nets that helps us to keep our standards high,” he said.

The Uttar Pradesh left-hander hoped India would come up with a better show in the tri-series. “It is a different ball game. We have played really well as a unit. When you take wickets with the new ball, it's always good for the team. Vinay and Praveen bowled really well. If you look at the bench strength, we have Irfan (Pathan), Zak (Zaheer Khan), and Umesh (Yadav) ready to go. We have a good team right now,” Raina said.

Raina said he has been working on his batting to adjust to the bouncy wickets of Australia. "I have been working on my wrist position so that I can keep the pull down," he said. "I am feeling confident at the moment, hitting the ball well, had six-seven good sessions here. This is an important tour with regards to comeback to the Test side,” he said.