Dhoni all praise for southpaw

Cardiff: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has showered praise on Suresh Raina for his match-winning hundred in the second ODI against England which helped them take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.“It was a fantastic knock. By the end of the 30th over, we had not scored too many runs. It was important that he stayed at the crease because he was a set batsman. And we have realised that if we can get a partnership going and have wickets in hand, we can score a lot of runs in the last 10-12 overs. So his innings was very crucial in that respect.”

Raina and Dhoni put up 144 runs for the fifth wicket.“Raina is someone who scores at a very quick pace and he plays authentic cricketing shots. So I feel he played a fantastic innings as once he got his fifty, he continued and moved on to play some fantastic shots and got his hundred,” said Dhoni.

With the ODI World Cup six months away, when asked if this innings confirmed Raina’s spot in the squad for India’s title-defence, the Indian skipper replied, “If a batsman plays one good innings, he is put up on a pedestal. If he doesn’t play good cricket or indeed if Raina had not played this innings, the questions could have been very different.”

“If Raina doesn’t score in a couple of games against the West Indies (at home in October), some other questions will be asked. The World Cup is still three-four series away. Hopefully he won’t be injured.”