Suresh Raina has been a regular member of the Indian cricket team for almost a decade now mainly in the limited over’s game, although he lost his place recently due to his form. However, mainly known to bring a bundle of energy into his fielding with some unbelievable run outs and outstanding catches, he has been the mainstay of the Indian middle order chipping in with important knocks whenever the team was in a spot of bother.
The ability to manufacture gaps and split the field earned him high praises when he first burst on to the global circuit in 2005 at an early age of 19. Suresh Rains is the first Indian batsman to score centuries in all three formats of the game. He played 223 one-day internationals scoring 5568 runs at a healthy average of 35.46.
He also represented India in 18 test matches earning his first Test cap against Sri Lanka in 2010. Suresh Raina has been the go to man for any captain in the T-20 format be it for IPL franchise or for the country.
Here is a look at the top five Suresh Raina innings from the southpaw’s career:
- 101 vs. South Africa at Gross Islet, 2010
Indian was struggling at 32-2 at the end of sixth over in front of the mighty South African bowling attack, when Suresh Raina came to the crease and played a crucial knock of 101 in just 60 balls with the help 9 boundaries and 5 mammoth sixes which made him the first Indian to score an international T-20 century and third in the world. He stitched an important partnership of 88 runs with Yuvraj Singh which ultimately helped India to reach a score of 186 runs at the end of their quota of 20 over’s. Raina was harsh on all the South African bowlers hitting them for boundaries. Ultimately, South Africa came 14 runs short of India’s total of 186.
- 120 vs. Sri Lanka at Colombo, 2010
Riana’s fantastic form in 2010 continued when he joined the likes of Gundappa Vishwanath, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and others scoring a hundred in his test debut against Sri Lanka when he came into the team in place of Yuvraj Singh who was left out due to fever. He became the 12th Indian to begin their test career with a century when he scored 120 runs with 12 fours and 2 sixes to surpass Sri Lanka’s score of 642. The test ended in a high scoring draw, as India replied with a huge total of 707.
- 34* vs. Australia at Ahmedabad,2011
In the 2011 World Cup Quarterfinals against Australia, Raina played an unbeatable knock of 34 in just 28 deliveries to take India past Australia’s total of 261. While chasing, India was brought down to 187 for 5 facing tremendous trouble as Yuvraj Singh ran out of partners at the other end. That is when Raina joined Yuvraj and the duo added 84 runs together which ultimately helped the team to outscore Australia’s total. Though Raina scored only 34 runs, it was very valuable in that context which took India to the semifinals and ultimately lifting the trophy after 28 long years defeating Sri Lanka in the final.
- 87 vs. Kings Xi Punjab, Mumbai 2014
Raina was in his top form against Kings Xi Punjab in the qualifier match of IPL 7, when he played one of the best innings of his career. Chasing an impossible target of 227 runs, Raina hammered 87 runs off just 27 balls. The innings was filled with 12 boundaries and 6 towering sixes with of almost 350. He started hitting from the very fast delivery and smashed all round the park. The bowlers found it really difficult to pitch the ball to him. This helped Chennai to reach 100, in just six over”s. Although Raina could not take Csk home as he fell short of a run out due to a miscommunication with Brendan McCullum.
- 110 vs. Zimbabwe, 2015
In a group match against Zimbabwe during the 2015 World Cup, India was reduced to 92 for 4 in the 23rd over by the mighty Zimbabwean”s who was high in confidence after their spirited batting performance when they posted a staggering total of 287 runs courtesy of 138 runs from Brendan Taylor. Raina once again rose to the occasion and started to build a steady partnership with Dhoni getting odd boundaries at regular intervals. The pair added a match winning partnership of196 runs taking India home with Raina and Dhoni finishing at 110*and 85* respectively.