Suresh Raina has returned to the Indian team with a lot of positive intent. He timed the ball really well in the first match at Johannesburg. At Centurion, he played a lovely little cameo after Rohit Sharma‘s early dismissal. In the final T20I against South Africa, Rohit got out cheaply – yet again leg before off Junior Dala – and Raina chipped in with a 43 off 27 balls.
Being a limited-overs cricket veteran, Raina had added responsibility for this game. A stiff back ruled out Virat Kohli and given the India captain’s recent form, it was a serious blow. Kohli’s stand-in, Rohit, finished a pretty ordinary series with the bat, scoring just 11 runs in the final T20I. Shikhar Dhawan struggled ﷽with his timing upfront. And the onus fell upon Raina to make the most of🐼 the first six overs.
As JP Duminy won the toss and put India to bat first, a good powerplay was needed to cancel the advantage for the home side. India scored 57 runs in powerplay overs for the loss of Rohit’s wicket. On a pitch that offered bounce and also a little bit of early movement, Raina’s footwork was excellent.
His batting during that phase felt like a throwback to the ⛄past, when Raina used to be on a par with Kohli in the shorter formats.
During South Africa’s innings, Raina also dismissed the power-hitter David Miller on his off-spin. The southpaw was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his all-round performance.
Suresh Raina’s wife, Priyanka Chaudhary Raina was all over the moon after her husband’s terrific show in Capetown. She took to Twitter to post a heart-winning message for the love of her life.
Here’s what Priyanka Raina tweeted:
“That moment when your heart is filled with immense happiness and your eyes with tears!
So proud of you my liefie ❤️ @ImRaina”
That moment when your heart is filled with immense happiness and your eyes with tears!
So proud of you my liefie ❤️— Priyanka Chau෴dhary Raina (@Priy💝ankaCRaina)
