Carlton tri-series: Our bowling needs to be much better, says Raina

Brisbane: Jolted by the opening loss to Australia, India would look to plug the bowling loopholes and ensure a stronger batting display when they take on England in their second ODI tri-series match here today.
In Brisbane, both sides will be looking to register their first win in this tournament with the hosts having stolen a march on them with two successive wins. India can take some solace from their match against Australia in Melbourne in the sense that they pushed the hosts a lot closer.
Two bowlers played a key role in squeezing the run-rate, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Axar Patel. It was quite a positive for the Indian team, reeling under the inconsistency shown by their attack in the preceding Test series.
All-rounder Suresh Raina said the Indians need to improve their bowling as batsmen cannot be expected to bail the side out everytime. “I feel that we can improve our bowling. On Sunday we scored close to 270. In the World Cup, we might have to defend 240-odd runs and for that our bowling needs to be much better.
‘Ishant is a big boost’
“We didn’t have Ishant and that made a lot of difference. His presence will be a big boost. Bhuvi bowled really well, especially in the death,” Raina told bcci.tv.

Ravichandran Ashwin bowls during the ODI against Australia in Melbourne on Sunday. The off-spinner gave away 54 runs in nine overs @ 6.00. Pic/Getty Images
Ravichandran Ashwin bowls during the ODI against Australia in Melbourne on Sunday. The off-spinner gave away 54 runs in nine overs @ 6.00. Pic/Getty Images
Raina said he would have been left devastated after his dismal failure in the Test series against Australia had his side failed to draw the last two matches. Raina scored a half-century against Australia on Sunday after having bagged a ‘pair’ in his return to Test cricket after two years.
‘SCG Test, a bad dream’
“In Sydney (fourth Test) I played my first Test after more than two years and didn’t score a run. That hit me real bad. Everyone in the team tried to cheer me up saying ‘it’s okay, it was hard luck’. But I was really disappointed. I was just stunned. It felt like a bad dream,” Raina said.
“What helped me get over it was that we drew the Test,” he added.