Cricket

Suresh Raina joins MS Dhoni in elite T20 list

Dixit Bhargav
|PublishedFeb 25, 2019

CARDIFF, WALES – JULY 06: Suresh Raina of India bats during the 2nd Vitality International T20 match between England and India at SWALEC Stadium on July 6, 2018 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Suresh Raina joins MS Dhoni in elite T20 list: The axed Indian batsman achieved a couple of records while playing for Uttar Pradesh.

Axed Indian batsman Suresh Raina has become the first Indian cricketer to cross the 8,000-run mark in T20 cricket. Been a vital player in the India’s team for several years, Raina has become the sixth-highest run-scorer in the format.

Having crossed the barrier in his 300th match, Raina is now the only player apart from former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni to have played 300 T20s.

Dhoni, who was severely criticized for his slow innings against Australia last night, was playing his 301st T20 game. The duo will not remain isolated in the list for India vice-captain Rohit Sharma (299) is set to join them soon.

Raina achieved the feat during his team Uttar Pradesh’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Puduchery at Delhi. Coming in to bat at No. 3, Raina might have only scored 12 (18), but ended up achieving two significant milestones in his T20 career.

Raina faces competition from Kohli

Currently the sixth-highest run-scorer in T20s, Raina is facing stiff competition from India captain Virat Kohli (7,833), who is also closing in on 8,000 T20 runs. Much like their cat and mouse game in the list of most runs in the Indian Premier League, the pair is expected to play the same battle over here as well.

In 300 T20s, Raina has scored 8,001 runs at an average of 33.47 and a strike rate of 139 including four centuries and 48 half-centuries. With 4,985 runs in 176 matches at an average of 34.37 and a strike rate of 138.43, Raina is the highest run-scorer in the IPL.

Talking about his current form, the 32-year old southpaw has scored 72 runs in four matches at an average of 24 in the ongoing tournament. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League remains Raina’s only two chances to make it to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Raina had last played for India in both ODIs and T20Is during the tour of England last year.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.