From England ton to World Cup cameo: Raina's decade in international cricket

Suresh Raina completed a decade in international cricket on Thursday and said he is happy with way his career has progressed so far. He made his international debut on 30 July 2005 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in a one-day international match.

The 28-year-old had a forgettable international debut a decade ago when he was dismissed for a duck in his maiden ODI but has since become an integral part of the limited overs sides.

Till date he has played 218 ODIs in which he has scored 5500 runs including five centuries and 35 half-centuries with a strike rate of 93.80.

Raina is the only Indian batsman to score a century in all three formats of cricket: T20, ODI and Test and was the part of 2011 World Cup-winning Indian team. He also represented the country in the next edition held in Australia earlier this year, where India exited at the semifinal stage.

As he completes a decade in international cricket, here are his top five knocks in international cricket:

75-ball 100 vs England, Cardiff, 2014

This innings will go down as one of the most crucial ones not only in Raina’s career but also for India. Going into the match India were down on confidence having lost the Test series 3-1. They were battered and bruised and needed someone to lift the spirits. The first ODI was washed out and in the second match, it seemed as if the Test series trend would continue as India were reduced to 19/2 inside 8 overs in swinging conditions.

However, in stepped Raina and played a counter-attacking innings of 100 off 75 balls. He played some glorious shots and his innings was laced with 12 fours and three sixes. He added 144 for the 5th wicket with MS Dhoni and helped India post 304 and chipped in with a wicket as India won the match comfortably by 133 runs (D/L method). Raina was named man of the match (India went on to win the series 3-1).

It was his first ton in four years and hence an important one for him. Before flying to England, he had worked on his game with Sachin Tendulkar and Pravin Amre and termed this knock as one of his best.

“This knock is one of the most special ones for me given the circumstances and the conditions,” Raina told BCCI’s website. “We hadn’t won the game in a long time and to help the team break that jinx with a century was very satisfying.”

Sunil Gavaskar rated the left-hander’s hundred as one of the best ODI innings overseas.

101 vs South Africa, 2010 World T20, St Lucia

A century is a rare phenomenon in T20 cricket. In 2010, Raina set the Beausejour Stadium on fire as he became the first Indian to score a century in T20Is. India had got off to a jittery start having lost openers inside the Powerplay. Raina strode in in the very first over at 4/1, started off scratchily but then got into the groove and hammered a century off just 60 balls.

He scored 82 runs off the last 38 balls with his second fifty taking just 17 balls — this was an innings laced with nine fours and five sixes against the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis. India won the match comfortably by 14 runs and Raina was declared the man of the match. He is still the only Indian player to score centuries in all three formats.

34* vs Australia, World Cup 2011 quarterfinal, Ahmedabad

34 might not seem to be a huge number but this was one of the most crucial innings Raina played — World Cup, quarterfinal, big stage.

Australia have posted a competitive 260 and India were struggling at 187/5 when Dhoni walked back to the hut. India has lost two wickets in four overs and needed 74 from 12.3 overs to win.

Yuvraj Singh was on 25 when Raina joined him. Yuvraj was in the form of his life during the tournament and all that Raina needed to do was to give him support. He wasn’t able to find a regular place in the starting eleven in the World Cup and was brought in for Yusuf Pathan as Dhoni thought: “Raina is technically better and we were keen on batting 50 overs.”

Raina (34 off 28) made the most of the opportunity that came his way as both batsmen added 74 unbeaten runs from 10.1 overs with Yuvraj (57* off 65) and the duo powered the India into the semi-final with 14 balls to spare. Raina played sensibly and showed great maturity and made sure he was there til the end.

120 on Test debut vs Sri Lanka, SSC Colombo, 2010

After making his debut against Sri Lanka in 2005, it took Raina five years to break into the Test side. And boy he started off with a bang with a century on debut. Sri Lanka had posted a mammoth 642/4 dec in the first innings after opting to bat and the left-hande came in at 241/4 at the fall of VVS Laxman’s wicket.

Tendulkar was going well at the other end and India were still in a precarious position. The two got together and added 256 for the fifth wicket. Raina showed great temperament in his debut innings as he played patiently and then went for his shots once the safety level was reached. His 120 off 228 balls included 12 fours and two sixes. Tendulkar went on to make 203 as India hamered 707 in the first innings.

The master blaster was full of praise for the debutant after the day’s play: “He showed tremendous character. Tremendous all-round game,” Tendulkar told ESPNCricinfo. “He was solid in his defence and played some magnificent shots. Left the ball well as well. This particular innings was terrific because when he got in to bat, it was a tricky time. It didn’t appear that he was playing his first Test.”

The match ended in a draw and India were still alive in the three-match series after losing the first one.

78 vs England, Lord’s 2011

Since making his Test debut in 2010, Raina has had a roller-coaster ride in the longest format of the game. However, at Lord’s in the 2nd innings in 2011, Raina showed glimpses that he could adapt to the one format where he has failed to seal his spot in the starting eleven. A fighting innings saw him score 78 off 136 balls at Lord’s in the first Test and gave India just a glimmer of hope of saving the Test. He showed great character in tricky conditions with James Anderson on fire.

Having been set a target of 458, India were 80/1 at the end of day four. They however started off badly on day five and lost three wickets in the first session. Raina and Tendulkar then got together and battled it out facing 17.4 overs for just 30 runs and then Raina got along with Dhoni to add 60 from 18.2 overs to give India some hope.

However, Raina kept losing partners and was finally dismissed by a beauty from the Anderson who finished with five wickets. Raina’s innings was a shining light in the India’s rather gloomy 196-run defeat.

With inputs from PTI