Bopara inspired by World Cup

Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara showed maturity to beat India

Ravi Bopara has revealed how his experiences of England’s World Cup campaign spurred him on to keep his composure and engineer a nail-biting victory over India.

The 22-year-old Essex all-rounder hit an unbeaten 43 off 82 balls to help England secure a three-wicket win under the Old Trafford lights last night, contributing to an unbroken 99-run stand with Stuart Broad after they had slipped to 114 for seven chasing India’s 212.

Both players, the youngest in England’s line-up, showed maturity and composure beyond their inexperience and helped secure a 3-1 lead in the NatWest series with three matches remaining.

But Bopara has revealed how the desperate disappointment he suffered following a close defeat by Sri Lanka in Antigua during the recent World Cup was an inspiration for him to ensure it was not repeated against India.

On that occasion, Bopara hit 52 off 53 balls but was bowled in the last over as Sri Lanka won by two runs and he admitted: “I’ve never really been in a run-chase situation like that with Essex, but I have with England in the World Cup and I used that.

“I thought out there that this was a similar situation and I didn’t want to go through the disappointment of not finishing it off this time - you learn from your mistakes I guess and I didn’t want to fall short again.”

During the World Cup, Bopara was the newcomer batting alongside experienced wicket-keeper Paul Nixon, but this time both himself and Broad were making only their 13th one-day international appearance for their country.

Ravi Bopara was able to draw on his experience chasing in the World Cup © Getty Images

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Despite the intense pressure on them, Bopara remained calm once again to inspire a stunning triumph and leave England one win away from clinching an impressive series victory.

“I don’t think too much about the end result (in situations like that), I just think about what I need to do at the time and that helps me stay calm I guess....don’t think about the bigger picture, just getting the next few runs,” he explained.

“All you need to think about in that situation is let’s get 10 more runs, and when you get that 10 you just have to get 10 more.

“When we had about 30 to go I started to think we were getting there, it wasn’t too many runs to go and the Indians started to get quiet too.

“They were pretty fiery to start, they’d bowled pretty well up front and were excited about getting KP (Kevin Pietersen) and Colly (Paul Collingwood) out but they went much quieter as we got close and I almost knew we had won it then.”

Bopara has enjoyed this series in particular as it has given him a chance to play against Sachin Tendulkar, his idol as a young player. His admiration is illustrated by the similar stance he adopts at the crease to the little master.

Bopara has tried to emulate his hero Sachin Tendulkar at the batting crease © Getty Images

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He marked his first match against his hero by catching him at mid-wicket in the opening match of the series at the Rose Bowl, but admitted a short talk to Tendulkar during India’s match against England Lions at Northampton shortly before the start of the series was the highlight so far.

“It’s special playing against him but out there it’s a great feeling to be challenging him, someone I have admired for so long, and I just want to get the better of him for my team - if I can help get him out it is a huge bonus for us because he is such a good player,” enthused Bopara.

“I had a brief chat with him during the Lions game and he gave me good advice. He gave me 25 minutes of his time and I know that’s a precious commodity for him, he’s a very nice man.

“As a kid growing up you look at guys who excite you and he was the one, he plays the perfect shots plus the amount of runs he scores...he was the guy, he was the number one in the world.

“I tried to copy his style when I was young, who wouldn’t? I guess some of that has carried on now, but I’ve added my own style to the way I bat.”

It has certainly been a successful formula for a player who has enjoyed a remarkable rise through the ranks since impressing Michael Vaughan at the academy in Perth last winter and earning his place in the one-day squad and World Cup squad as a result.

His next aim is to force his way into the Test side, adding: “Any cricketer is looking to make that step but these are exciting times for me and I’m not looking too far ahead.

“Yes, I’ve had brief thoughts about Test cricket but all my thoughts at the moment are on this series and I don’t want any extra pressure at the moment.”