Melbourne:
His confidence on a high after an impressive display against Pakistan in India’s World Cup opener, all-rounder Suresh Raina wants to fill in the shoes of Yuvraj Singh, the hero of 2011 edition, in the ongoing showpiece event being jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Coming out to bat at crucial number four position, left-handed Raina smashed 74 off just 56 deliveries to help India register a comfortable 76 runs win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening Pool B match at Adelaide on Sunday.
Talking about his innings, 28-year-old Raina credited 2011 World Cup man-of-the-tournament Yuvraj and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his success.
“You need to follow your instincts which I have learnt from Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. I have always batted lower down the order and in the previous World Cup when I didn’t play the bulk of the matches, I observed Yuvi and saw how he used to finish games for the side,” he said.
“I want to play Yuvraj Singh’s role in this World Cup. I want to field, bowl and bat well,” Raina told ‘bcci.tv’.
“I will look to be dominant when required and at the same time play sensible cricket by rotating the strike and complement the partner at the other end.
“I love to play straight and have an array of scoring options. There will be phases when you are not scoring against particular bowlers and you need to play sensible at that time,” he added, referring to his knock against Pakistan.
Raina said the win against Pakistan was the much-needed fillip for India, who went through a torrid time in Australia prior to the World Cup.
“Games against Pakistan are always pressure games. It is a different feeling to play against Pakistan. This is my second World Cup and the second World Cup game against Pakistan. We won it in 2011 and now I have played against them in 2015 and won it again,” he said.
