Happy birthday Suresh Raina: Here's a look at his achievements
Suresh Raina has been one of the finest left-handed batsmen to represent the Indian cricket team. The player enjoyed some brilliant moments with the Indian side since his debut in 2005. One of the best fielders of the game, Raina turned 32 today. Currently, he might be out of the Indian squad, but Raina's career isn't finished. Here we look at his achievements.
Raina grew as an able finisher for India
Raina has participated in 55 successful ODI run chases. The southpaw has an average of 66.60 in these matches. His strike-rate of 101.74, in these encounters, shows his impact for Team India. He bagged two hundreds and 13 half-centuries in these chases. If we consider 50+ successful run chases, his average is behind only two Indian players, Virat Kohli (98.93) and MS Dhoni (97.81).
Raina first Indian to record ton across formats
The southpaw smashed a century on Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2010. In the process, he became the first Indian to record a ton across all the three formats in international cricket. He hit his maiden ODI ton against Hong Kong in 2008 edition of the Asia Cup. He was India's first T20I centurion. He hit the same against South Africa in 2010.
Raina one of the finest T20I players for India
Raina is the youngest to captain Team India in T20Is. He led the side for the first time at the age of just 23. He has played a whopping 78 T20Is for India. He managed to score 1,605 runs with one ton and five fifties to his name. His strike-rate of 134.79 makes him one of the most dangerous batsmen, in this format.
Raina the highest run-scorer in IPL
Raina has been one of the most celebrated names in the Indian Premier League. The southpaw has won three titles with Chennai Super Kings. He is leading run-scorer in IPL (4,985). He has 35 fifties. Raina needs 15 more to become the first player to get past the 5,000-run mark in IPL. He is the fourth highest in terms of sixes hit in IPL.
Raina played a crucial role in ODIs
Interestingly, Raina had a forgetful ODI debut as he was dismissed for a golden duck against Sri Lanka in 2005. However, from there on, there was no looking back for him. He represented India in 226 ODIs, scoring 5,615 runs with five hundreds and 36 fifties. He won the ICC World Cup 2011 with the Indian team, besides the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.
