Bangalore: Branded as a One-day international and Twenty20 specialist, Suresh Raina said he was keen to shrug off the tag and cement his berth in the Indian Test team, and felt that his effort of 55 on the second day against New Zealand in the second cricket Test here Saturday was a step in that direction.
“I have been playing Test cricket and getting better and better. I have been there, batting well at No.6 and No.7, but I was aiming for a long innings which didn’t come. When I get a chance again I would look to score a big one,” said Raina at the end of the day’s play here Saturday.
Referring to his dismissal, caught behind for the second consecutive innings, Raina said he was disappointed that it happened when he and Virat Kohli were going strong, having added 99 runs.
“It’s unfortunate for me to get out twice in the same manner. I am very disappointed. Virat and I had a good partnership and now he and Dhoni are batting. Hopefully, we can put lot of runs on the board. The match is going to be interesting in the next three days,” he said.
Asked about his tactics of launching a counter-attack on his arrival at the crease with the score reading 80 for four, Raina said he only batted in the style he liked and that the balls were in his area to be hit.
“Whenever I got the ball in my area, I made sure to bat positively because (Ross) Taylor was going really great against us. So this is the style I would like to play in Test cricket, but at the same time, I need to control my aggression.
“I need to judge the line and length. I am getting better. I have done well in ODIs, so hopefully, I will be better in Test cricket too,” said the 25-year-old Raina who is playing in his 17th Test.
On the current state of the Test match, Raina hoped that India would put up a big total as the pitch is unlikely to change much over the next three days.
“There wouldn’t be a big change. They bowled well and the fielding was too tight and they must have saved some 30 to 40 runs. So hopefully, Virat and Dhoni would put a good partnership on the third day.
“We need make sure we have a good first session, so that Ashwin and the rest can continue. We need a competitive total as the next three days are very crucial for us,” said Raina.