2011 World Cup Semi Final Against Pakistan Was The Most Memorable One: Suresh Raina

Former Indian batsman Suresh Raina had revealed that the victory over Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Worldcup 2011 was the most memorable match for him. Certainly, it did have a big impact on the Indian team, as they went on to win the game against Sri Lanka in the final and lift their second World Cup after 1983.

India batted first in the game, and Suresh Raina, who came in at seven played an important hand scoring an unbeaten 36 off 39 balls and helped India post a decent total of 260. The Indian bowlers were on the money straight away and won the game by 39 runs to progress to the finals.

Suresh Raina States The Importance Of The Semi-Final Win

Suresh Raina chose the 2011 World Cup Semi-Final against Pakistan to be his memorable one and the reasons were Pakistan were in excellent form coming into the game and also, India had the pressure to not lose in a Worldcup match to Pakistan. He also stated about the pressure of playing the games on home soil and hence, the win was very critical to build their confidence moving forward.

“I think the match against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup is the most memorable one. India had to win the semi-final as the game was crucial for both teams. Pakistan was on top of the pool, as they played a lot of matches in Sri Lanka. Definitely, I would say 2011 (was most memorable).”

“After that, our team got stronger and we never lost against them in the World Cup. 2011 World Cup was critical because we were playing the tournament on our home soil and we had pressure to play one more game in the final,” said Suresh Raina on Star Sports Show Connected.

Suresh Raina Explains The Emotions Behind The Game

Suresh Raina mentioned that the emotions were different and they managed to remain calm somehow. He reminded about how the team wanted to give the best against Pakistan always and to focus on planning, and intentions against the side. He was delighted that the hard work paid off in the end.

“The emotions were different but, we all managed to stay calm. When you’re playing against Pakistan, you make sure you give your best. You need to give it back to your team; you need to work hard on your intention, planning, and every other thing. We worked hard, and the whole team did well,” he added