Calm and aggressive, defensive yet attacking … the man needs no introduction for he is the one who has contributed heavily
Raina Rains Runs
towards the series win against England. An achiever beyond doubt, a man who has a clear idea as to what the people expect from him, a true team player and an exceptional all-round performer Suresh Raina or more appropriately Suresh “Rescuer” Raina
The silent killer has done most of the damage in the ongoing series , both with the bat and through his exceptional fielding skills.
Suresh Raina has scored a chilling 194 runs in three innings at an average of 97 with a rich strike rate of 94.17
He has provided those vital partnerships which have helped the team win matches one after another. With this, now India has someone who will support Dhoni in the lower middle order as a finisher. We have seen in the past that once Dhoni fails, the team crumbles and fails to reach the required score. But with Raina pairing up with Dhoni, even Dhoni can afford to get a bit adventurous and play more openly.
Raina has been more than amazing when it comes to sub-continent conditions. But the strider loses pace once in foreign conditions. This is where Raina will have to improve. His weakness against the short ball and his inability to deal with flat and fast tracks can be a huge problem for the Indian middle order. The team needs him to work on these weaknesses so that India can tour nations with a strong and reliable lower middle order.
Raina has scored at an average of 49.53 over the last 12 months and has scored seven fifties in this period. His development as a reliable middle order batsman has helped the team and provided Dhoni a suitable partner. After the first ODI, Dhoni clearly stated that Raina’s dismissal was ill-timed and that cost them the match. Dhoni also said that only if he and Raina had managed to stay out there for a few more overs, they would have ensured an Indian victory.
All said and done, now we wait for the fifth and final ODI at Dharamshala, where the cold weather will add to the testing conditions of a one day game. Raina has hit three half centuries in a row and we all hope for the fourth one to be scored at HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala on 27th January, 2013. Hoping for another emphatic Indian victory, see you at the Lama’s abode.
Very true. He is undoubtedly one of the best limited over player of the world yet his performances are often overshadowed due to his more illustrated team mates.
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•I feel that Dhoni should rriete voluntarily from all forms of cricket. Even though I am from Ranchi I feel that it’s high time Dhoni should stop playing cricket, leave apart captaining the national side. I just can’t recall any of his good innings except that 183 which according to me was bad Sri Lankan bowling more than anything else. He is extremely fortunate to have gotten a team like this. I don’t understand his apathy towards batting up in the order. May be its his cowardice approach, fear of media flank or he is aware of his limitations. He has stuck into this Indian team like a leach sucking blood. His reluctance to give chance to other talented players like Saurabh Tiwari, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhishek Nayar etc. may prove fatal to the future of Indian cricket. Another thing which is hard to justify is the need of these cricketers to indulge in add shoots. I know that nothing comes for free and at the end of the day its adipose wallet which matters. But the question is how much is too much . Are they paid less. Is revenue earned from international matches, IPL, Airtel Champions League insufficient to them. I would not believe it for a second that Dhoni uses Micromax, rides TVS star city, uses cello to write and uses bryl cream. Doing add shoots is not bad, but at the same time u have to concentrate on the very thing for which you have become worthy of doing these add shoots. Our very own Sachin sets the perfect precedent for this. He has done numerous add shoots but has never deviated from his goal and that’s why he is held in such high regards. Dhoni should take some lesson from him. I think the selectors should harden their stance on it. Dhoni should be axed, at least for while to make him realize that no one’s place in Indian cricket team is taken for granted. Alas! our selectors could have themselves realized it.