Raina happy with team performance

Suresh Raina was a happy skipper after India defeated Bangladesh by a 2-0 margin in the 3-match ODI series. Persistent drizzle forced the final rubber of the series to be abandoned after India were reduced to 119/9 in the 35th over.

Stuart Binny and Mohit Sharma were the stand-out performers for the Indians in the series, and the captain felt the performance of the duo would augur well for the team ahead of the 2015 World Cup. "I am very happy with the side, especially Stuart Binny, who bowled really well alongside Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav. We played good cricket, especially when you know World Cup is coming up, a lot of youngsters showed their character," Raina said.

India's batting were a shambles in the last two matches, being bowled out for just 105 in the second match and then getting reduced to 119/9 in the third on pitches that offered plenty of encouragement to the pace bowlers. Raina though wasn't deeply perturbed over the failures of his batsmen. "Especially in the subcontinent, I haven't seen a wicket do this much in the last 10 years," Raina said. "It was good for the team, for the batsmen to adapt to these conditions and take it to England and Australia for the Tests and the World Cup. Bangladesh are also going to West Indies. So I think it was a good battle between bat and ball and winning the series was important."

The Indian skipper further added the sort of pitches that the team encountered in the last two games will make the batsmen work harder on their game. "Whenever we play in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, I think the batsmen always have the upper hand. Here, rain was coming in and bowlers had a new ball at both ends. So you had to control your shots and decide when to attack and when not to. Still I think, both sides played really well, especially India," Raina said.

"A lot of young players have come out of one and a half months of IPL. They were playing their first tour in Bangladesh when the wicket was doing something. We have learned how to tackle seaming conditions and a few players from our side are going to England so they could utilise these conditions to prepare for the Tests," he added.