Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman Suresh Raina has probably played the best innings of IPL in a losing cause. It was the second qualifier match between CSK and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL 2014 when Raina smashed 87 runs off 25 balls.
Earlier in the same match, Punjab's Virender Sehwag had played a terrific knock of 122 runs which put KXIP into a good position. Raina recalled the knock in a chat with R Ashwin and said Sehwag's innings gave him belief to play a similar knock.
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“When I saw Viru Bhai hitting a lot of sixes, I thought the wicket was definitely very good to bat on. I was thinking maybe we can chase 180-190. But they scored 230 something.
“The moment I went into the dressing room, I saw calmness. Everyone must be thinking we have lost the game. But I was in a different zone at that time. Since I fielded at the slips, at point, at the covers, also at mid-off, mid-on; I saw Viru bhai hitting every ball so straight. So, what I learned from the first innings that I have to be very particular about my bat flow. I have to go through all the check drives, especially take all the bowlers to straight boundaries rather than taking them across the bat,” he said.
Raina was looking unstoppable before getting run out by George Bailey. He brought up his half-century in just 16 deliveries and eventually smashed 12 fours and six maximums. Although the innings went in vain with CSK losing the match by 24 runs.
“The calmness made me believe that I can do it. The amount of belief in me and in our dressing room because I and MS were thinking we can do it. I felt so good because every ball was coming into my bat. Initially, when I hit 1 or 2 boundaries, I thought this is the game I'm gonna take it from anywhere,” he added.
Sehwag was picked as the Man of the Match for his innings which came with a strike rate of 210.34. He hit 12 fours and 8 sixes in his knock which gave CSK bowlers a hard time to stop the flow of runs.
“Viru Bhai was smashing everything. He smashed Ashu bhai (Ashish Nehra, Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), and Mohit Sharma. There was no tiredness in his batting. He had hit 8 or 9 sixes and he was singing the song. I said, ‘give me half of what you have done. I wanna win this one for my team’,” Raina further said.
