It's always nice to have runs under your belt at the start of the season: Raina

"It's always nice to have runs under your belt at the start of the season," star batsman Suresh Raina said a day after helping India overcome a daunting target in the third ODI against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium, says a report in The Times Of India, adding that after getting a half-century in the first game at Hambantota, Raina came to the party once again with a superlative innings and in company of Irfan Pathan helped India cross the finish line under lights on Saturday evening.

Talking aabout the pressure coming into the series, Raina said, “Pressure will always be there when you are representing the country. But I am now experienced enough to overcome the nerves and focus only on the job at hand. It was such a relief for the team to put up a big total in our first international game after over four months. There are always questions asked about the fitness and mental preparedness after a long break. But we answered them well. But the second game at Hambantota was a disaster. We lost wickets in a bunch right at the beginning and there was no coming back. It was good that we came back strongly on Saturday night. We will aim to clinch the series in the fourth game on Tuesday,” said Raina, admitting that sometimes he do get carried away and throw his wicket. “But with experience I am ensuring that I stay there till the end. Sometimes it comes off, other times it does not.”

Coming to international cricket, a report in DNA says that the manner and margin of Engaland’s defeat against South Africa defeat still defy comprehension. Are South Africa really that good? Have England really become that bad? Has the rarefied air at the top of the rankings mountain really gone to their heads? What has happened to Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann? Why couldn't England's bowlers move the ball off the straight and narrow while South Africa's could? And so on and so on.

England's defeat at the Kia Oval last week by an innings and 12 runs certainly raised a raft of uncomfortable questions. "We are still scratching our heads as to why that ball didn't do anything," says Alastair Cook in response to one of them, while the rest of us still shake our skulls at most of them. It really was that horrible.

Meanwhile according to a report in TOI, a five-wicket haul for Kemar Roach and an unbeaten 64 from opener Chris Gayle saw West Indies beat New Zealand by nine wickets on Sunday to win the first Test of their two-match series at North Sound. After dismissing the tourists for 272, the hosts raced to their target of a measly 102 for the loss of just Kieran Powell as Assad Fudadin hit the winning single to put the West Indies 1-0 up in the two-match series.