Suresh Raina, the former middle-order batsman for India and the winner of the 2011 World Cup in 50 overs, believes that the 2011 Cricket World Cup was a match made in heaven for the Indian team.
In a recent interview with Lallantop, Raina made this assertion and stated that the entire tournament—including India’s victory over Sri Lanka in the CWC final—was prearranged, but it was prearranged by the Lord above.
This was just one of many fascinating comments made by the former left-hand batter in that interview.
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India won the World Cup title after 28 years
Suresh Raina didn’t participate in many games for the Men in Blue during that World Cup, but he was involved in the process and knew every detail of the team’s victory.
Even though Raina participated in fewer CWC games, the ones he did play were crucial. He has made his 50-over World Cup debut against the West Indies in Chennai.
In the World Cup’s second quarterfinal match versus Australia in Ahmedabad, where India triumphed over the defending champions, Suresh Raina made his second appearance.
After that, he participated in the semi-final match at Mohali against Pakistan. In his fourth match, which was the spectacular final, the Indians overcame the Sri Lankans by 6 wickets to win the illusive trophy for the first time since 1983.
The early dismissals of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar created a stressful environment in the dressing room, as Suresh Raina initially acknowledged.
However, the partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli for the third wicket began to shape India’s chances. Then Raina reflected on how, following Kohli’s exit, MS Dhoni, not an excellent Yuvraj Singh, was coming out to bat.
Suresh Raina reveals how things unfolded in the 2011 Cricket World Cup
“There was silence in the dressing room after the first two wickets fell but the partnership between Gauti bhai and Virat (changed the match). When Virat’s wicket fell I was there in the dressing room,
“Dhoni bhai was going out to bat. When I saw that I was like what happened all of a sudden because Yuvi Pa was in a sensational form,” Suresh Raina said.
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“And all the decisions that Dhoni bhai took were all master strokes because there was Muralitharan, who used to play for CSK at that time, so I thought he wanted to have a left-right combination even though Yuvi Pa was in his prime form. But that decision was also a masterstroke,” Suresh Raina added.
“Before that in the quarter-final match, Ashwin was playing and he was replaced by Ashu bhai against Pakistan. So I felt like the World Cup was scripted. That whatever is happening was bound to happen and it was written by the Lord above,” Raina concluded.
Suresh Raina stated that he was taken aback to see Dhoni bat before Yuvraj, but he also stated that MSD was looking for a left-hand and right-hand combination to counter Muralitharan’s spin.
Raina said that Dhoni’s choice to go before Yuvi, who was named man of the tournament following the final, was a brilliant one and that everything that transpired during the tournament felt like it was written by a higher power.
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