In a candid interview on the eve of the much-anticipated final, Raina shared insights into the crucial moments of the 2011 encounter at Motera stadium.
“The Australian squad of 2011 was strong and led by Ricky Ponting, from sledging to strong bowling and exceptional fielding they had everything, I clearly remember Gautam, Sachin, Dhoni all got out and it was my time to bat. Paji (Sachin) was sitting next to me in the dressing room and he told me to go and finish the match. Yuvraj and I stitched up a partnership, though we didn’t require lots of runs we still had pressure to win, but, at the same time we also had to play aggressive cricket,” Raina told ANI.
The left-handed batsman went on to form an unbeaten 74-run partnership with Yuvraj, steering India to victory.
Reflecting on the pressure of the chase, Raina emphasised the need for aggressive yet composed cricket.
“I remember they (Australia players) sledged us many times and even Brad Haddin came in front of me while I took a run, but we kept calm and focused,” Raina said.
Looking ahead to the upcoming final, Raina acknowledged the strength of the Australian team, especially in big games.
“Australia is a team that loves to play semi and finals and they are the team of big games as they know how to play better, their mindset is pretty strong and with the double century of Maxwell and back-to-back wins will boost their confidence to next level, so we can’t take them lightly but on the other hand Indian squad is quite dangerous this time with batting and balling and their strong fielding is icing on the cake so I am sure the encounter on 19th will be full with entertainment,” Raina added.
However, he emphasised that the Indian squad is equally dangerous this time, predicting an entertaining encounter on the 19th.
(With inputs from ANI)
