Best Innings of Suresh Raina in IPL
When we discuss IPL, Suresh Raina comes first in our mind. The man who has also known as Mr. IPL has been pivotal for Chennai Super Kings since the first season of IPL. The yellow army bought him for 6,50,000 USD in the first IPL auction. Raina is the only player who has been consistent with the bat every season. After Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina is the second leading run-scorer in IPL.
He accumulated 5368 runs over 12 editions at an average of 33.34 including a hundred and the record 38 half-centuries. He was the first player in the history of the Indian Premier League to score 3,000 runs. Raina also holds the record of the most number of catches in this tournament (86). He also has a record of the highest number of games in IPL (193). During his 12-years IPL career, he played some amazing and match-defining knocks for his franchise.
So, let’s take a look at the top 5 best IPL knocks from Suresh Raina:
#1 The blistering 25-balls 87 against KXIP (2014)
Best Innings of Suresh Raina: The IPL Playoff knock against Punjab was not just his finest knock but also the favorite IPL innings of the player himself. Chennai was up against the table-topper KXIP in the eliminator and they were chasing huge 227 to reach in the final. Raina played majestic innings of 87 at a top strike rate of 348 before getting run-out to give hope to CSK but getting wickets on a regular basis, KXIP won this game by 24 runs. He made the full use of powerplay to smash every bowler to put CSK ahead in the game.
#2 98 off 55 balls against RR (2009)
In the second edition of the Mega Event, Raina came close to his first ton but got out on 98 but it remained his finest knock in a winning cause. Suresh Raina was in top form that year. In Centurion, Raina helped CSK to secure a vital win against the defending champions, Rajasthan Royals. After batting first, Chennai posted the strong total of 164 with the help of his 98 off 55 balls and Chennai won this match by 38 runs.
#3 A maiden hundred against KXIP (2013)
Raina scored his maiden IPL century against Kings XI Punjab in 2013 after getting missing out the hundred many times. He waited for six years to get his first-ever IPL century. While batting first, Chennai Super Kings lost his first wicket in 4th over and Raina arrived to lead the top order. He completed his maiden hundred with six-four and six sixes. With this knock, CSK posted a competitive total and KXIP fell short of 15 runs. Raina declared as Man of the Match.
#4 Gritty 57 in IPL Final against MI (2010)
Best Innings of Suresh Raina: He continued his T20 form in the third edition of the Indian Premier League to help his franchise to bag the first-ever IPL title. He played a gritty knock in the final of the 2010 edition of the IPL. He put a match-winning partnership of 72 runs with captain MS Dhoni for the 4th wicket to set a strong total of 168. Sachin fought hard for Mumbai but couldn’t cross the line. He was also declared MOM for his 35-balls 57. In the same year, he becomes the first Indian to score a hundred in T20 international which came against South Africa after two weeks of the IPL final.
#5 Crucial 73 against RCB (2011)
A top player always shines in a crucial phase. A fifty in a tough situation is far better than a hundred in an open game. In IPL 2011’s playoff fixture against RCB, Chennai was struggling at 7/2 and they needed a much-needed partnership to reach a competitive total. Zaheer Khan and Vettori were troubling the CSK batsmen bur Raina bought his side in the game by playing a match-winning knock of 73 to post a challenging target of 176. He nourished partnerships with Badrinath and MS Dhoni and later, finished the inning high Best Innings of Suresh Raina in IPLby scoring quick runs in last overs.
So, IPL is back again and Suresh Raina had delivered in UAE before when IPL was played back in 2014 due to the general election. We would expect Raina to deliver yet another scintillating knock in the 13th edition of the mega event.
