Hmmmm... This day had to come... I have been raving about Suresh Raina being a great prospect for a long time now to my near and dear... But now I had something to show them that I wasn't over-quoting my tongue...Suresh Raina has finally graduated to the big league with a great knock in the 2nd ODI against England at Faridabad.
Good things are finally beginning to happen in Indian cricket. To all those mouths that said Dravid and Chappell are not as good as Ganguly and Gang in finding talent, I would like to say this...Buy yourself some listerine and wash the plaque off your mouths!!!
Anyways this blog is not to start the never-ending (Gang)uly controversy, but to throw light on the new bright-light of Indian cricket, Suresh Raina.
Suresh Raina was born on the 27th November, 1986 at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He is from the same Sports College of Lucknow which gave us Mohd. Kaif.
I feel blessed for the fact that I got a chance to see the 2004 edition of the U-19 World Cup. During the league stages of the tournament India faced Scotland in one of the matches. "Why would you watch a Scotland vs India U-19 World Cup league match?????"...is that it...I heard you!!! I cant say why, but I did and I paid $15 to an internet streaming site for it.
Getting back to why I feel blessed for having done it...The match was a steamroller on Scotland. India scored 425 for the loss of just 3 wickets and the 3rd wicket partnership was for 131 runs off just 62 balls...Shikar Dhawan, the highest scorer in the Indian Innings with 155 contributed just 35 runs in the partnership. The rest came from the bat of a young 16 yr old Suresh Raina making his debut in the U-19 World Cup. He scored 90 runs of 38 balls. He hit 14 fours and 2 sixes.
He went on to win the Man of the Match award for the one against West Indies where he quietened himself and played a spectacular 66 off 84 balls. He then returned to pick 3 wkts for 23 runs of 10 overs in a terrific display of off-break bowling.
The contrast between those 2 knocks and his temperament on the field are things worth watching on a cricket field. Never for once was he carried away during that knok of 66(84) against WI where the great Indian top-order, heavily dependent on Shikar Dhawan had succumbed. The same kind of characteristics that one saw in him in the fourth ODI in Pakistan where he scored 35 off 34 balls and prevented the ever-famous Indian collapse which has happened so many times in the past.
He made a strong case for selection when he top scored with 55 in a warm-up game for India-A against Pakistan. The knock came under great pressure where India struggled to 189/7 from its 50 overs.
Now with this knock of 81 off 89 balss, Suresh Raina has truly announced his arrival in the big league. Hats off to Chappell and Dravid to have persisted with this young lad who is a dynamite-investment for Indian cricket's future.
