The MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina Legacy To Indian Cricket
As we all know, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni bid adieu to all forms of international cricket last evening through their Instagram posts which were:
Dhoni through an emotional IGTV video said “From 1929 hrs, consider me retired”
About half an hour later Raina also made an Instagram post with his CSK teammates with a caption saying, “With a heart full of pride, I choose to join you.”
Suresh Raina’s Instagram Goodbye
So as a tribute to two of India’s stalwarts, here are our Top 5 MS Dhoni- Suresh Raina partnerships in international Cricket.
1. 196* v Zimbabwe, Eden Park, Auckland. (2015)
This was match 39 and India’s last pool game of the tournament. India while chasing 288 after a Brendon Taylor masterclass, were struggling 92/4 after 22.4 overs.
The Indian skipper then joined the southpaw who was already batting 10*(23) and the two stitched a 196 run stand and took India through without losing anymore wickets.
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MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina finished 85*(76) and 110*(104) respectively and also recorded their best ever partnership. Raina was adjudged as player of the match.
2. 169 v England, The Lords, London. (2011)
India in the 26th over lost Dravid as their 4th wicket when they were on 110. Raina who had just come in was joined by his captain.
Raina 84 (75) and Dhoni 78 (71) paired up to add 169 runs for the fifth wicket as India finished at 280.
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The game, unfortunately, ended as a tie with the D/L method with Raina and Bopara sharing player of the match award.
3. 144 v England, Cardiff. (2014)
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After a 3-1 Test series loss, most of the Indian batsmen had some baggage of the loss and needed some motivation. Raina came in as Limited Overs specialist and straightaway scored a ton.
On a bowler-friendly Cardiff track, India were struggling 132/4 after 29.2 overs, when MS joined the left-hander as both of them went on to have an important 144 run partnership before Raina fell to Woakes after scoring a 75 bowl 100.
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Dhoni also scored a half-century as India finished 304/6. India went on to win the game by 133 runs through the Duckworth Lewis method.
4. 142 v Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa, Colombo.(2008)
After India being 3 down for just 81, Raina was joined by Dhoni as both of them paired and added 143 more runs for the fourth wicket and India finished 258 after first innings.
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Raina scored 76(78) while Dhoni made 71(80). India won the game by 46 runs and the partnership proved to be match-winning.
5. 136 v Australia, Jamtha, Nagpur. (2009)
Batting first after a well-played 76(80) by Gautam Gambhir, India were 216/4. MS Dhoni was joined in by Raina who was already well set on 55*(62).
The duo batted till the 50th over as India reached 354 after 50. Skipper Dhoni scored a fantastic 124(107) with Raina’s 62(50).
India won the game by 99 runs and Dhoni was adjudged as player of the match.
Honourable mentions:
•118 v England, Faridabad (2006)
With all these partnerships and thousands of runs batting together, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina perhaps go down as one of the all time great batting pairs the cricketing world has seen.
Thank You and Goodbye MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina.
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