Suresh Raina...

[spectre]

I sadly missed this match due to traveling But boy, my man has proved it yet again, that he is the best for this job I have argued vehemently that Raina is an absolute must in the Indian lineup and more importantly for the WC and many stat junkies who get high seeing the records, laughed at it The most selfless committed and uber talented cricketer you would see in the younger generation. Raina Rocks :yay: Dont compare him with the Kohli's and Pathan's. Its an insult to him Kohli has been a failure in this WC and he gets the best position to play and in flat tracks under virtually no pressure. Less said that Pathan the better. Drop Kohli for finals, his tuk-tuk can be done by Dhoni Get Pathan to bat higher up and take on the lankan spinners. Its a gamble but worth it

[Silva]

Pathan is more of a miracle worker and Raina is more dependable to come in and put away bad delivries and and play some clutch shots with the match in the balance. This batting line up needs a raina more than pathan. But when tendulkar/ gambhir and sehwag were injured or resting we all saw the value of pathan but ignored the strenghts that raina brought to the team. This is probably due to the fact that our full squad didn't play a single match until the world cup started. Thankfully this didn't cost us the world cup. Heck forget raina people where talking about dropping Yuvraj as well. And with regards to pathan coming in place of pathan I think thats a risky strategy. for one Yuvraj isn't really at his best at number 4. I know he scored a centuray against The west indies recently at number 4 but if I remember correctly he did look unconfortable early on. I think Yuvi is at his best batting a number 5. Dhoni shouldn't bat at number for because he's in terrible form and low on confidence. he should come in low as possible.

[gaurav92]

Well done Raina :hatsoff:

[bihutoli]

Well done Raina. He really seems to have turned a chapter. In the game against Australia he handled the short ball pretty well, so looks like he's really been working on his game. Mentally he is as strong as anybody out there. As for peope dissing Kohli, he was our most inform batsman coming into the worldcup. He may have not done really well, but we need to stop reacting the Lahori way every time a batsman fails.

[pinkfreud]

Raina has delivered in two high pressure situations so far. He has really stepped up to the mantle... but people like Gambhir seriously need to do something about their form now. The #3 position is highly important and we can't afford to keep passing on the pressure to our lower order guys.

[vvvslaxman]

Raina has delivered in two high pressure situations so far. He has really stepped up to the mantle... but people like Gambhir seriously need to do something about their form now. The #3 position is highly important and we can't afford to keep passing on the pressure to our lower order guys.

Switch Gauti with Kohli?

[jibranpatel15]

Raina has made the real deal for sure. I was impressed against Australia's knock but against Pakistan he showed alot of strength in his mindset & gameplan aswell. India's Batting is flowless but there are few guys struglling currently like Gambhir,Kohli & most sluggish has been Dhoni. He has got starts in games but then he gives away his wicket. It was brain phaart from Indian tailenders when Bhajji tried to hit a 6 & zaheer also kept swinging all around insntead of giving strike to Raina. Had they done that india would have definately reached 270. But never the less India won with 260 is amazing. And that too with bowlers stepping up is mindblowing. I was realy impressed with Munaf yestersay. He bowled superbly and that leg cutter to dismiss Razzak was awsome . Yes nehra too bowled well & Bhajji too took 2 wickets at crucial times. We don't need to say Zak & Yuvi's bowling as they have been bowling superbly all tournament. :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute: :isalute:

[urbestfriend]

Where are Raina bashers gone? Raina is must for limited cricket , he is a real force with his calm and calculcated batting influence in PRESSURE matches. A real great temparment this guy has, especially in pressure situation. And he is the real team man, good in field and a total player tailor made for shorter format. He may not score a big 50/100s , but his timely knock of 30s and 40s can be the difference between winning and losing. We can't expect more from a no 7 finisher, can we? Yet our ICF statisticians will soon forget all these and come out and claim his average is less than 30,he needs to be dropped for x,y,z blah blah. On the other hand, as much I like Kohli, I feel he lacks temparment in big games, especially pressure games. I have been watching him in IPL2009,2010,World cup etc, he plays real good in non-pressure matches but gets out to a stupid shots in pressure matches. On the other hand, Raina performs in big matches. SO moral is Raina and Kohli are the permanent fixtures of Indian ODI side.

[saneindian]

Great innings from raina again. But then why are we even comparing Raina and Kohli? Both are great prospects for India, both have a role in the team and are doing it well. Not all 7 of your batsmen are going to score runs all the time, its about how someone stands up and gets counted when the need arises. Signs of a truly wonderful team.

[yoda]

^^Well Kohli's had a mediocre WC so far occupying a higher batting slot and was the one who pushed Raina out of the playing XI, hence the valid comparison.

[rkt.india]

Its not surprise and it isn't first time Raina has done it..He has done it time and again..in one ODI in SA, ODI against Ozzies where he smashed their pacers every where in 70 odd runs and many a times before that too.... problem is Indian memory is very short...we forgot losses and weaknesses after 2-3 wins..and we starting taking a dig towards players if we lose even a game....like when we won against Holland..A TV channel gave the headlines like "Is Sharmnaak Jeet Ke Baad......" That was hysterical...Raina is a very essential part of this ODI side, IMO.

[rkt.india]

i have been trying to hammer this point here. years of experience counts. i have been arguing against putting under 22- yr olds like kohli and jadeja under WC pressure cooker situations for the past one year. For the next wc team , have guys with minumum 4 years experience so that under KO pressure they will prove reliable enough. The under 22 yr olds are work in progress and to put their incomplete cricketing and mental skills under scanner at a WC is not advisable . its not kohli's fault.too much was expected of him too soon.

Kohli has not done that bad at 4...he has one 100 and 2 50s, played well against WI when we had lost two early wickets and he plays spinners very well too...he will be handy against Lanka with their spinners army...

[Mr_Rat]

From yesterday ;-)

[Crookbond]

 

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/971597.html

 

Raina's comfort zone is batting against a slightly older ball in the middle overs, and the stats reflect that: when he comes in to bat between the 21st and the 35th overs, his average skyrockets to 53.43, while the strike rate goes up to 105. He has 19 fifty-plus scores in 59 innings during this period, compared to eight in 56 innings when he has come in within the first 20 overs.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Ra's Al Ghul

[kruiser]

From yesterday ;-)

Great picture!! Wont see such fielding in Ranchi though... dry and sandy outfield :(

[sandeep]

Perennially under-rated team-man.  Chota Yuvraj has always done the hard yards in the shadow of the glamour boys.