S Raina Debut 100

[Roshanrocks]

He may not be the best player of the short ball, but you will not find Suresh Raina lacking in effort and willingness to apply himself. It has been for all to see that among the breed of emerging batsmen in India, Raina is the most desperate to succeed. That quality, in a flashy and flamboyant batsman such as him, is rare to find. It is pleasing to see him get a century on Test debut. Like the debut, the century was well earned. By the age of 23, Raina had seen the whole spectrum even without playing Test cricket. From the Next Big Thing to Greg Chappell's boy, to the IPL star, to the man who couldn't play the bouncer, to the captain who forgot to notify the umpire of the Powerplay, Raina has been through a lot. In between a knee injury put him in a state where he had forgotten "all about cricket", when he would watch kids at nets, while on crutches, just to get "back a feel for the game". Raina also held the dubious record of having played the most ODIs before being considered good enough for Tests. He couldn't find a place even in the Board President's XI when South Africa toured India earlier this year. For a man making his debut in these circumstances - coming in during another Indian collapse on a tour of collapses - the flat track couldn't have been as flat as it has been for the others. Raina, though, had made a positive statement even before he laid hands on the bat. When the Indian bowlers lacked inspiration, when the captain lacked imagination, when fielders lacked energy, Raina stood out, diving, charging, hustling, saving nearly 30 runs in the field. All through those 642 runs, one man showed there was no place that he would rather be. On a tour like this, when the famed batting line-up has tended to buckle under pressure, India could do with such intentions. But a good fielder does not a Test cricketer make. Raina's chance with the bat would come, though, with Sachin Tendulkar looking for a partner to take India to safety and keep the series alive. Bouncers would be bowled, slog-sweeps would be fret upon, his patience would be tested. Forget the pitch, Raina passed the temperament test. He wasn't in a hurry when Sri Lanka were on the defensive, and when they attacked he duly found the gaps. There was evidence that Raina had worked on how he played the short stuff. Admittedly Dilhara Fernando's bouncers, aimed at the ribs but misdirected often, were not the best a batsman will have to face, but there were signs Raina had made a conscious attempt to get slightly inside the line and stay out of harm's way. There was enough patience shown in not going for a desperate pull or hook. When he did fend, he kept them down. Against the spinners Raina took charge. He was solid when he patted balls back to the bowler, and emphatic with his use of feet. Only when he and Tendulkar had averted danger did Raina play his favourite aerial shots. The first six, over wide long off, was beautiful to watch, the other, over midwicket, was a reminder he can attack in Tests too. The signs of nerves when he was in the 90s belied a man whose biggest improvement over the last year has been in confidence. It was a responsible, efficient, solid effort in his first Test innings. When he punched one down the ground in 126th over, Raina raised his arm in the air as soon as the ball left the bat, knowing the hundred had been achieved, taking him into a select group of Indian centurions on debut, which includes batsmen such as Lala Amarnath, Gundappa Viswanath, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. Joining them is perhaps the easier part. Tougher pitches and better bowlers now await Raina.

[Lord]

^beautifully written:congrats: i did not mean to belittle Raina's effort.a 100 is 100,n scoring a 100 on debut is tremendous achievement.we all know hes got temperament n a hunger to succeed n this knock just confirmed that.by all means,this was a terrific knock but i wasnt convinced by his innings somehow,he was taking too many risks against spinners n looked uncomfortable against pace even on a dead track.hope he learns from his it n works on it short comings.if he can pass the test in SA,he could turn into one of our finest young bat

[Pak_Fan_4_Eva]

Raina is an impressive player no doubt. A bright future prospect for Indian cricket

[nballa]

this doesn't count. even m vijay got a 60 odd and the guy is an absolute dodo.

[Cricketics]

this doesn't count. even m vijay got a 60 odd and the guy is an absolute dodo.

what counts than??? Had he scored a duck on debut, people would have said he is not good for test cricket. Had he scored 50, you would have said that he should have helped and formed parntership with tendulkar to avoid the follow in, and after he has scored a match saving 100 along with Tendulkar, and you say it doesn't even count. what's up??? why such ignorance?

[Jersey #10]

this doesn't count. even m vijay got a 60 odd and the guy is an absolute dodo.

100 on any track is commendable imo. Getting 50 or 60 would be a par score on such a track but a 100+ score is definitely something to congratulate on

[Feed]

Raina arrives on big stage in grand style Patience pays, always. If not anything else, the adage certainly suited Suresh Raina's Test debut, which the southpaw made memorable by becoming the 12th Indian to record a century in his maiden Test. More... Raina arrives on big stage in grand style Amol Karhadkar, Hindustan Times Colombo, July 30, 2010 Patience pays, always. If not anything else, the adage certainly suited Suresh Raina's Test debut, which the southpaw made memorable by becoming the 12th Indian to record a century in his maiden Test. Even before raising his bat after hitting Dammika Prasad for a boundary through mid-off before lunch on Thursday, Raina had entered the record books on the opening day of the Test when Rahul Dravid handed him the coveted cap. With 98 ODI appearances, he has also played the most ODIs before making his Test debut. When it came to making an impression with his first knock, Raina didn't disappoint. Coming on to bat on Wednesday, he couldn't have asked for a better situation to leave an impression on the biggest stage. The wicket was tailormade for batting, yet it was a challenge for the southpaw. With India still more than 200 runs behind the follow-on mark, he needed to hang around with the reliable Sachin Tendulkar to save his team from the danger of conceding the three-match series with one match to go. The stylish batsman, who got the opportunity thanks to a flu picked up by Yuvraj Singh on the eve of the match, rose to the occasion. Till he hit one from Ajantha Mendis to Kumar Sangakkara at short midwicket to be dismissed for 120 half an hour after lunch on Thursday, Raina had not played a false stroke during his 294-minute stint at the wicket. "He showed tremendous character. Tremendous all-round game. He was solid in defence and played some magnificent shots. Left the ball well as well. I thought this particular innings was terrific because when he got in to bat, it was a tricky time," Tendulkar said after the end of fourth day's play. "A big partnership was needed at that stage and both of us were able to do something special. The way he batted, I thought, was fantastic. It didn't look like he was playing his first Test." Raina's success has also created a selection conundrum for the team management ahead of the third Test, which starts on Tuesday. With Yuvraj knocking a few balls at the practice facility on Thursday, it would be interesting to see if he will make it back into the eleven for the last Test. However, Raina has made a strong case for himself to be preferred over his senior southpaw.

[Shane]

Left handed batsman....very much like Dada....awesome stuff.... India's future

I hope he doesnt turn out any where close to dada, when it comes to short pitch stuff, recognizes his weakness early and work on it, rather than acting like a sitting duck with his bat as a periscope.

[King Tendulkar]

raina against short ball is over hyped. Its only in limited overs cricket the problem is there as he trys to take it on with pull/hook. In tests he will get out of way and be fine. However, Sharma and Kohli are better bets for tests imo

[Shane]

raina against short ball is over hyped. Its only in limited overs cricket the problem is there as he trys to take it on with pull/hook. In tests he will get out of way and be fine. However, Sharma and Kohli are better bets for tests imo

But there is no doubt he is uncomfortable against the rising ball, I think he has good reflexes and can work on it, unlike dada whose technique was often found wanting, the shame was he never even tried working on his awful technique against the short ball.

[Zelig]

Both Raina and UV are good friends with MSD. Ummm...so who will get the nod for the 3rd test? Things working in favor of Raina - 1. CSKite 2. Was invited for MSD's marriage. Belly UV was not... :eyedance:

[Sachinism]

But there is no doubt he is uncomfortable against the rising ball' date=' I think he has good reflexes and can work on it, unlike dada whose technique was often found wanting, the shame was he never even tried working on his awful technique against the short ball.[/quote'] Yup absolutely right I was always backing him because he could leave the short ball in Tests, but you're right he was still looking very uncomfortable and still needs to do some work to sort that part of his game out, especially for touring where pitches offer the bowlers more steepling bounce

[Tendulkar_Bhai]

If Rania gets even half the runs, awards and success of Dada he will have done well, Ganguly struggled with short deliveries but scored plenty of runs against eng/aus etc and looked to attack spinners/medium pacers which is why he came in 5/6. If Raina is dropped for Yuvi (or anyone in the team for that matter), i will lose all respect for MSD.

[Shane]

If Rania gets even half the runs, awards and success of Dada he will have done well, Ganguly struggled with short deliveries but scored plenty of runs against eng/aus etc and looked to attack spinners/medium pacers which is why he came in 5/6. If Raina is dropped for Yuvi (or anyone in the team for that matter), i will lose all respect for MSD.

And if If Rania gets half the runs and success of Dada I would have been terribly disappointed, Raina is an immensely talented bloke, if he manages to iron out his deficiencies and manages to keep his feet firmly grounded (unlike UV and co.) he might turn out to be a far superior batsman than dada could ever imagine to be, not only in Tests but also in LOI's.

[Lord]

If Rania gets even half the runs, awards and success of Dada he will have done well, Ganguly struggled with short deliveries but scored plenty of runs against eng/aus etc and looked to attack spinners/medium pacers which is why he came in 5/6. If Raina is dropped for Yuvi (or anyone in the team for that matter), i will lose all respect for MSD.

it wont be that easy decision. u cant ignore the 50 he made in tougher conditions at Galle.Yuvraj was chosen as the first choice no.6 for the tour n hes done nothing to demean it.Raina got the opportunity,made the most of it.that should only get him as permanent reserve batsman for me. Gambhir will also walk in for Vijay,despite failing at Galle.he'll come in due to his superior record.Yuvraj should cme on the basis of 1st test performance the bold step would be to play both n drop/rest Dravid,but dont think Dhoni will do that with us 1-0 down

[Tendulkar_Bhai]

it wont be that easy decision. u cant ignore the 50 he made in tougher conditions at Galle.Yuvraj was chosen as the first choice no.6 for the tour n hes done nothing to demean it.Raina got the opportunity,made the most of it.that should only get him as permanent reserve batsman for me. Gambhir will also walk in for Vijay,despite failing at Galle.he'll come in due to his superior record.Yuvraj should cme on the basis of 1st test performance the bold step would be to play both n drop/rest Dravid,but dont think Dhoni will do that with us 1-0 down

Dravid looked good in the first test but was abit unlucky (havent seen him in this one) but i dont think theres any way he will be dropped over someone like UV!! Dravid is still the backbone of the team and its disrespectful to talk about dropping him. Re Raina, he is he future of Indian cricket, UV has shown he doesnt have the game for it (how many 100's has he got??? 2/3?), nevertheless he will still be invaluable in ODI's. He himself in a recent interview posted here, he talked as if he was past his peak in tests/was unfortunate to be around with the big4 i.e. making excuses for his failure rather than working hard.

[Shane]

it wont be that easy decision. u cant ignore the 50 he made in tougher conditions at Galle.Yuvraj was chosen as the first choice no.6 for the tour n hes done nothing to demean it.Raina got the opportunity,made the most of it.that should only get him as permanent reserve batsman for me. Gambhir will also walk in for Vijay,despite failing at Galle.he'll come in due to his superior record.Yuvraj should cme on the basis of 1st test performance the bold step would be to play both n drop/rest Dravid,but dont think Dhoni will do that with us 1-0 down

Drop Dravid for YV? Please tell me you are high dude. :D

[Lord]

Dravid looked good in the first test but was abit unlucky (havent seen him in this one) but i dont think theres any way he will be dropped over someone like UV!! Dravid is still the backbone of the team and its disrespectful to talk about dropping him. Re Raina, he is he future of Indian cricket, UV has shown he doesnt have the game for it (how many 100's has he got??? 2/3?), nevertheless he will still be invaluable in ODI's. He himself in a recent interview posted here, he talked as if he was past his peak in tests/was unfortunate to be around with the big4 i.e. making excuses for his failure rather than working hard.

failures?wat failures he got 50 in Galle n was pretty impressive wen Lankans toured India.it'd be unfair to disregard all that for one knock on a featherbed.Yuvraj has been pretty decent since Ganguly went.as i said,hes made the squad as a first choice no.6 n has done it no harm in Galle.Raina came in for him n did good,that establishes him as a reserve bat for me.if they r not happy with him,they should leave him out of the squad,but clearly they r happy with him so far. i dont know wats changed suddenly about Dravid,i know it sounds crazy.wont happen. i was talking in terms of building for the future as Dravid is on the *** end of his career.maybe if we were leading there was a chance