Raina: Batting let the team down
India`s stand-in skipper Suresh Raina admitted that his batsmen let the team down after they were handed a crushing 103-defeat by the West Indies in the fourth ODI on Monday.
"Credit to Windies for batting well. But we did not bat well at all to be honest," Raina said after the match.
"Our shot selection was wrong, we had no partnerships. Rohit (Sharma) was there but I and Yusuf (Pathan) got out at that time.”
"There was no partnership. Batsmen have to be there when chasing a total like 240-245. And the West Indies played well in the batting powerplay."
Raina was, however, pleased with his bowlers` performances.
"(Amit) Mishra and (Ravichandran) Ashwin bowled well for us, Ashwin got us the wicket of Pollard who was batting well. Ishant and PK also bowled well," he said.
Rival skipper Darren Sammy was delighted that his team managed to break a sequence of three successive defeats.
"We showed a lot of character and it`s good to come on the winning side. We played a lot better today, we have been improving throughout this series. We posted 250, bowlers have been getting early wicket, today we handled it better," Sammy said.
Opener Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard -- both made valuable half centuries -- came in for praise from the skipper.
"Since Simmons came back he has been our main run-getter. Pollard got runs down the order, we keep losing track in the middle. As long as we keep improving, we are still a young team," he said.
About Andre Russell, Sammy said, "He is a total team man, I spoke to him and he told me, skipper I am going to give my best. He has a bright future."
Man of the Match Anthony Martin, who acknowledged the loud cheers from the crowd, said the familiar conditions worked in his favour.
"The conditions I know very well, it helped me a lot. Thanks to the crowd for supporting me. I am going to do the best I can," Martin said.
Asked what was his strategy going into the match, he said, "I just decided to keep it tight and let the batters do what they wanted to do."
"Our shot selection was wrong, we had no partnerships. Rohit (Sharma) was there but I and Yusuf (Pathan) got out at that time.”
"There was no partnership. Batsmen have to be there when chasing a total like 240-245. And the West Indies played well in the batting powerplay."
Raina was, however, pleased with his bowlers` performances.
"(Amit) Mishra and (Ravichandran) Ashwin bowled well for us, Ashwin got us the wicket of Pollard who was batting well. Ishant and PK also bowled well," he said.
Rival skipper Darren Sammy was delighted that his team managed to break a sequence of three successive defeats.
"We showed a lot of character and it`s good to come on the winning side. We played a lot better today, we have been improving throughout this series. We posted 250, bowlers have been getting early wicket, today we handled it better," Sammy said.
Opener Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard -- both made valuable half centuries -- came in for praise from the skipper.
"Since Simmons came back he has been our main run-getter. Pollard got runs down the order, we keep losing track in the middle. As long as we keep improving, we are still a young team," he said.
About Andre Russell, Sammy said, "He is a total team man, I spoke to him and he told me, skipper I am going to give my best. He has a bright future."
Man of the Match Anthony Martin, who acknowledged the loud cheers from the crowd, said the familiar conditions worked in his favour.
"The conditions I know very well, it helped me a lot. Thanks to the crowd for supporting me. I am going to do the best I can," Martin said.
Asked what was his strategy going into the match, he said, "I just decided to keep it tight and let the batters do what they wanted to do."
Raina was asked some pointed questions on the continuing failure of Yusuf Pathan and Subramaniam Badrinath, as well as opener Shikhar Dhawan.
"We will see how the team combination works (in Jamaica). We have to play the first Test there also so we will try to play to our potential. The thing with batting is that you need to build partnership, you have to respect good line and length."
Despite India's loss, Raina's captaincy so far has been very encouraging. First coach Duncan Fletcher and now Simmons is very impressed with the way Raina rotated his bowlers and set up his field.
Raina said he has learnt a lot watching how Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni go about their task as a captain.
"You watch them and learn how to be positive, how to play to your strength and how to cope with tough situations."
Raina didn't forget to praise the West Indies for the comeback they managed here.
"One needs to give them credit. They played good cricket.
It's been a good comeback for them," he said.
"We will see how the team combination works (in Jamaica). We have to play the first Test there also so we will try to play to our potential. The thing with batting is that you need to build partnership, you have to respect good line and length."
Despite India's loss, Raina's captaincy so far has been very encouraging. First coach Duncan Fletcher and now Simmons is very impressed with the way Raina rotated his bowlers and set up his field.
Raina said he has learnt a lot watching how Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni go about their task as a captain.
"You watch them and learn how to be positive, how to play to your strength and how to cope with tough situations."
Raina didn't forget to praise the West Indies for the comeback they managed here.
"One needs to give them credit. They played good cricket.
It's been a good comeback for them," he said.
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