ARTICLE OF BEST INNINGS OF SURESH RAINA!!!!
Suresh Raina represented India in 322 international matches ©
February 24, 2004. The day India locked horns against West Indies in the Under-19 World Cup in Dhaka. After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Asian nation found themselves in a spot of bother at 69 for 3. At that stage, a 17-year-old from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, strode out to the middle with a confident gait and composed a gritty innings of 66 to prop up India's innings. Eventually, India finished with a formidable 253 and emerged victorious by a convincing margin of 96 runs. However, the key point to note from the match was the promising batsman's ability to absorb the pressure, which gave an inkling that he could bring bigger laurels for the country.
Suresh Kumar Raina certainly converted the burgeoning potential that he showcased during his Under-19 days by serving his country with distinction. After playing for more than a decade, the southpaw decided to hang up his boots from international cricket. As Raina walks into retirement life, we rekindle memories by recounting some of his best knocks.
On a slow and turgid wicket, India were in pursuit of a competitive target of 227. The hosts also started on a good note, with the score reading 70 for 1. However, against the run of play, the home side collapsed in a heap, losing their next four wickets for just 22 runs. At that juncture, the inexperienced Raina joined MS Dhoni to calm down the nerves in the Indian camp. The duo ran the opposition ragged with a diet of singles and twos. Raina also gave a glimpse of his royal flourish by cutting Andrew Flintoff through the backward point region. The left-handed batsman reserved his best for Liam Plunkett. The highlight of his innings was the way he picked a cutter from Plunkett to smack it through the midwicket fence. Flintoff castled Dhoni, but Raina remained unbeaten, as the hosts charted a famous four-wicket victory.
The white Kookaburra ball was doing a bit off the seam. The visitors also lost wickets at regular intervals and had slipped to 132 for 4. With India needing a partnership of substance, Raina joined forces with Dhoni to resurrect the innings. He peppered the off-side field with cuts and drives. When Chris Woakes bowled it a slightly fuller, he lofted the seamer with panache straight down the ground. Against James Anderson, in the slog overs, the left-handed batsman made room, but the England spearhead tried to tuck up the southpaw. Just that Raina was still able to hoick one across the line and into the boundary hoardings. Anderson then tempted Raina with a fuller length ball and in the corridor of uncertainty, only for the middle-order batsman to crack a fluent drive to tailor the gap through covers. After completing his hundred, Raina fell to Woakes but the damage had been done. India sealed the game by a huge margin of 143 runs.
Raina showed his class and quality in the 2010 T20 World Cup with a scintillating innings against a South African attack comprising Dale Steyn, the Morkel brothers, Rory Kleinveldt and Jacques Kallis. He came out to bat in the first over itself and by the time he was dislodged in the final over, he had accumulated more than half of India's total of 186. It rained fours and sixes from his willow, with his second fifty coming in just 17 balls. South Africa got close, but Raina's innings proved to be the difference. He also became a member of an elite list of cricketers who have scored an international century in all three formats.
VVS Laxman has been involved in many memorable partnerships in his career, and one such involved Suresh Raina who was playing his maiden Test series in 2010. At the P Sara Oval in Colombo, India were 199 for 4 in their first innings, needing to rebuild despite Virender Sehwag's 105-ball 109. Laxman and Raina got together at this stage and put on 105 for the fifth wicket, helping India post 436, 11 more than Sri Lanka's first innings total.
The pair was in action again in the fourth innings, with India chasing 257 for victory. India were 171 for 5 when Sachin Tendulkar had departed after a half-century, with the onus on Laxman and Raina to see the team through. The left-hander provided solid support to Laxman, who scored a fine hundred, in an unbroken stand worth 87 runs that helped India pull off a five-wicket victory.
The crucial 2011 World Cup encounter between India and Australia was evenly poised when MS Dhoni fell to Brett Lee, with India requiring a further 74 runs to overhaul the target. The home side needed a partnership of substance. At that stage, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina came together to not just pilot India to safer waters but also provide the finishing touches to chart a well-earned victory against the then-defending champions. Yuvraj played a pivotal role with Raina taking over the mantle of supporting him. The way Raina lifted a quick delivery from Lee over wide long-on just capsulized his shot-making prowess. He ended up with a quick-fire undefeated 34 off just 28 balls.
Six days after joining hands with Yuvraj Singh in Ahmedabad to pull off a heist against Australia, Raina was summoned into another rescue act, this time in Mohali. The occasion was even bigger - India were up against Pakistan in a World Cup knock-out game for the first time since 1996 and had seemingly lost initiative despite Sachin Tendulkar's battling 85. Raina walked in with India at 187 for 5 and soon lost MS Dhoni. That left him with just the tail for company and with the best part of eight overs still to face.
Shepherding the tail brilliantly, Raina shared small but vital stands with Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. It wasn't the typical Raina knock - there were only three boundaries in his unbeaten 39-ball 36, but the southpaw ensured that India had a fighting total. In the end, 260 was 29 runs too many for Pakistan and Raina's unbeaten innings was the difference between the two sides.
One of Raina's greatest strengths was his ability to soak the pressure and compose vital hands. He composed one such valuable knock in the 2015 World Cup game against Zimbabwe in Auckland. The Asian side was in troubled waters at 92 for 4, while chasing down a target of 288. With India in trouble, Dhoni and Raina once again shared a game-altering undefeated alliance of 196 to propel India to a hard-fought win. Raina's innings was filled with a string of hoicks through the midwicket region off Sean Williams, sprinkled with lofts and pulls. Eventually, in the 49th over, India posted a six-wicket victory.
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