Ian Chappell: 'Raina has matured brilliantly'

[Temujin Khaghan]

Is it just me or is someone else thinking along these same lines. I dont belong to the "Raina Fan Club" that we have here. Nor do I have the intention of enrolling there ever. But I believe that the lad has class. Simply because Raina is a more classy batsman than Yusuf. Yes, Raina can hit big... nay monstrous screaming sixes over the outfield, but he deserves more than coming at no.7 behind dhoni and yusuf. Hell infact, I believe that Raina has got potential to be the no.4 batsman in the batting order. Yusuf is a good batsman, explosive at best. But the lad still doesn't have temperment. Its best to send him as the last recognized batsman in the order which might boost the tail.

[Temujin Khaghan]

YESSSS!!!! haha dream come true... allright now yusuf at 5 down please :)

[flamy]

Join the club. :--D

[kooljatt]

Ian Chappell: 'Raina has matured brilliantly' Well, it was a rather listless Pakistan that was hammered in the end by a buoyant India. Pakistan started well, they batted well with Shoaib Malik setting the tone at the top of the order. He played extremely well for 125 to set India a target of 300. The pitches have been pretty flat in this tournament and Pakistan took advantage of this. The captain got some very good assistance from Younis Khan, who played extremely well. Pakistan had appeared as though they were going to win the match. It was a pretty vital match because whoever won it took two points through to the next stage. So Pakistan looked pretty comfortable after the end of the first innings scoring 299 from their 50 overs. For India, there wasn't much to speak about in the bowling. Probably, the best of the bowlers was RP Singh, he got an early wicket and then bowled tidily. But there is not much joy in the Karachi pitch for the bowlers. When India went out to bat, Pakistan had lost their captain Malik to bad cramps, so he was off the field. Then there was worse news for Pakistan - Umar Gul broke down and he might be gone for the tournament. That will be a huge blow for Pakistan. Pakistan without their captain were leaderless, and then lost Umar Gul. After that, it was Virender Sehwag taking full advantage. He smashed the bowling to all parts. He lost Gautam Gambhir early on; a brilliant catch (by Misbah-ul-Haq) got rid of Gambhir. But then young Suresh Raina was very impressive at No. 3. He was given the opportunity and obviously he sent a very quick message to the selectors that he liked batting in that position and he wanted to be in the heat of the battle and make a difference in the game. He really has matured brilliantly, he has lot of skill and Indians will be delighted with the progress that he has made. Sehwag went on to score a century, he absolutely hammers Pakistan when playing in Pakistan, and this may also have had a deflating effect on Pakistan. In the end, India needed just a little over 100 runs from their final 25 overs, that's how easy they made the target look. They scored at 7.13 runs per over, they were home in the 43rd over. It was a very impressive performance from India, and now they not only go through to the next stage with those two crucial points, but they have built up a nice little bank in their net run-rate. So, India looking very strong in the Asia Cup after a great victory over Pakistan. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/talk/content/multimedia/358214.html?view=transcript