Suresh Raina http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Arthur-Percival-Day-c45927 to start West Indies tour with Twenty20 victory
India’s limited-over skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539, has said that he is enormously delighted over starting the West Indies tour on a winning note, believing that it will boost the team’s confidence for the rest of the games.
The Men in Blue thrashed the Caribbean side comprehensively by 16 runs in the one-off Twenty20 International at the Port of Spain on Saturday, June 4, 2011.
Put into bat first, Raina and men amassed an imposing 159, courtesy of outstanding batting by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Subramaniam-Badrinath-c91587.
The 30-year-old Badrinath, who was playing his first Twenty20 International (T20I), smashed a stunning knock of 43 runs, including five lovely boundaries.
Later in the match, the Windies never threatened the Indian score despite a thrilling 66-run partnership between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Marlon-Nathaniel-Samuels-c74804. The home side could only manage to reach 143 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs.
Expressing complete satisfaction over his team’s all-round performance, the Indian stand-in captain heaped special praise on Badrinath and Sharma for their spectacular batting performance.
"We played well; the bowlers executed the plans very well. Badrinath and Rohit set it up for us," said Raina.
"This is the best fielding side we've had in the last four to five years. Our new coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Usman-Afzaal-c94676 Penny, the fielding coach, have helped us a lot," added the classy left-hander who could only score a couple of runs in the T20 match.
Raina was appointed as India’s Twenty20 and One-day International (ODI) captain after Gautam Gambhir’s sudden exit from the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 tour due to a shoulder injury.
Earlier, Raina supported senior players’ decision of taking a break from International cricket, admitting that it is tough for them to play every game in a hectic schedule.
While http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820 withdrew their names from the squad due to fatigue.
Raina further anticipated a good performance by his team in the ODI series despite conceding the fact that the home side will make a strong comeback in the next matches.
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