Raina thanks Kohli for allowing him to bat at No 3 and express himself

Cape Town, February 23: Suresh Raina, who made a comeback to the Indian team after a long gap for the T20I series against South Africa, thanked skipper Virat Kohli for allowing him to bat in the No 3 position.

"It is important (to attack). Virat (Kohli) showed that faith in me. In the last two games we have dominated in the first six overs. It is very important to play well in the first six overs," said Raina, who has made 15 off 7 balls and 30 off 24 balls in the first two T20Is.

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS / PROBABLE XI / RACISM ROW" title="PREVIEW / SCHEDULE AND RESULTS / PROBABLE XI / RACISM ROW" />PREVIEW / SCHEDULE AND RESULTS / PROBABLE XI / RACISM ROW

Raina said the team has been on the same page with Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri when it comes to the desire to win matches.

"We have spoken about it in the team meeting. When you have been doing well in every game, then you need to finish well too. That is what Virat is all about. He never takes things easier, and on top of that you have MS and Ravi (Shastri) bhai who also give their inputs to the players," Raina said.

"Virat has led the team well. We did well in Tests and won the ODI series. Dressing room is such that everyone is enjoying this success and the process is such that everyone is giving their inputs to Ravi bhai," the left-handed batsman said.

Raina wanted to use the T20s as a platform to make a comeback into the ODI team but was aware that he has to face stiff competition to find a place in the Indian middle-order.

"If you see the top order, they are all batting well. When you come to the middle order, MS (Dhoni) is there and Manish (Pandey) is also doing a good job.

"So we will see where I can fit in. There are a lot of matches coming up now. Winning games is more important than which format I am playing or not. Every Indian game is very important for me right now," said 31-year-old Raina.