Raina and Bopara Shared
India’s Suresh Raina and England’s Ravi Bopara shared Man-of-the-Match honours in the fourth ODI here at the Lord’s for outstanding batting performances. Raina and Bopara scored 84 and 96 runs for their respective teams and were named joint Men-of-the-Match after the match was abandoned due to rain and a tie declared under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Excerpts from their post-presentation interview.
Ravi Bopara:
On whether the tie brought on joy or disappointment
I am actually very happy; getting a tie here clinches the series for us […] With the rain about we never really knew when to accelerate so in the end [it’s] a fair result.
On whether he faced the dilemma of not knowing whether to play for a win or for a D/L par score
That’s exactly what was going through my mind. Do I knock it for ones and twos here or do I hit the big shots? – I was never quite sure but once [Graeme Swann] Swanny got out and [there were] only a couple of overs left, [I thought] we [had] to take it on just in case it comes down really hard.
On his promotion in the side and his performance in the absence of Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen
If I am going to make myself play every game then I am going to make some runs and the last couple of innings have been nice for me and [I] would [like to] continue.
On Suresh Raina’s innings
He played really well. That shot over mid-wicket is sometimes really unstoppable. We knew for a long time that he has been doing that for years and especially with the IPL, these guys hit the ball a long way.
Suresh Raina:
On his form in the ODIs
It’s been nice; [MS Dhoni and I] had a good partnership in between. I was batting well but not converting it to big scores so today was the day I thought I had to bat till the end.
On the partnership with MS Dhoni under difficult circumstances and then accelerating in the end
He was just telling me [to] look to play positively; whenever you get the ball you [can] play your shots. My game plan is really simple; whenever I get the ball in my area, I just play my natural game.
On the team fielding well and playing good cricket
It’s nice, we have been hitting the [spots] really well. Trevor Penny has been outstanding with the boys and we have a lot of energy in the side. [It’s a] young side, all [are] 24 - 25 [year olds]. Hopefully we will do well in the next game also.
On Ravi Bopra’s innings
He is knocking the ball really well. [He’s] maybe a bit disappointed [because] he didn’t get a hundred because he had a hundred before. I am happy for him also.
source: http://www.bcci.tv/
Excerpts from their post-presentation interview.
Ravi Bopara:
On whether the tie brought on joy or disappointment
I am actually very happy; getting a tie here clinches the series for us […] With the rain about we never really knew when to accelerate so in the end [it’s] a fair result.
On whether he faced the dilemma of not knowing whether to play for a win or for a D/L par score
That’s exactly what was going through my mind. Do I knock it for ones and twos here or do I hit the big shots? – I was never quite sure but once [Graeme Swann] Swanny got out and [there were] only a couple of overs left, [I thought] we [had] to take it on just in case it comes down really hard.
On his promotion in the side and his performance in the absence of Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen
If I am going to make myself play every game then I am going to make some runs and the last couple of innings have been nice for me and [I] would [like to] continue.
On Suresh Raina’s innings
He played really well. That shot over mid-wicket is sometimes really unstoppable. We knew for a long time that he has been doing that for years and especially with the IPL, these guys hit the ball a long way.
Suresh Raina:
On his form in the ODIs
It’s been nice; [MS Dhoni and I] had a good partnership in between. I was batting well but not converting it to big scores so today was the day I thought I had to bat till the end.
On the partnership with MS Dhoni under difficult circumstances and then accelerating in the end
He was just telling me [to] look to play positively; whenever you get the ball you [can] play your shots. My game plan is really simple; whenever I get the ball in my area, I just play my natural game.
On the team fielding well and playing good cricket
It’s nice, we have been hitting the [spots] really well. Trevor Penny has been outstanding with the boys and we have a lot of energy in the side. [It’s a] young side, all [are] 24 - 25 [year olds]. Hopefully we will do well in the next game also.
On Ravi Bopra’s innings
He is knocking the ball really well. [He’s] maybe a bit disappointed [because] he didn’t get a hundred because he had a hundred before. I am happy for him also.
source: http://www.bcci.tv/
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