MS Dhoni vs Suresh Raina - Who was the better batter in ODIs? 

MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina are two of India’s most successful batters in one-day internationals. The pair helped India win numerous matches, bailing the team out of difficult circumstances. As long as the duo were at the crease, the Men in Blue’s hopes were intact.

One of India’s most successful captains, Dhoni played exactly 350 ODI matches, amassing 10773 runs at an average of 50.57 with 10 hundreds and 73 fifties. Raina, meanwhile, represented Team India in 226 one-day matches, scoring 5615 runs at an average of 35.31 with five hundreds and 36 fifties.

As a pair, Dhoni and Raina scored 3585 runs in 73 innings at an impressive average of 56.9. They shared nine century stands and 18 fifty-run partnerships. But who was the better batter between the two in the ODI format?

Here’s a statistical analysis of the two cricketers based on some key performance parameters.

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#1 Performance in winning causes

MSD during the 2019 World Cup. Pic: Getty Images

India won 202 one-day matches with Dhoni in the playing XI. He had a stupendous record in winning causes for India, smashing 6312 runs at a superb average of 68.60, which is distinctly better than his overall average of 50.57.

Six of his hundreds came in winning causes for India, the highest being the whirlwind 183* in Jaipur against Sri Lanka in October 2005. His 148 against Pakistan in Vizag earlier that year was also a memorable one as Dhoni announced himself on the international stage with that knock.

Raina, meanwhile, featured in 133 ODI games that India won. He scored 3650 runs in these matches at an average of 49.32, way better than his overall one-day average of 35.31. Impressively, four of the left-hander’s five hundreds came in winning causes.

The dampener though is that three of these tons came against relatively weaker sides - one each against Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Zimbabwe. His standout ton in a winning cause was a 100 off 75 balls against England in Cardiff in August 2014. The Men in Blue clinched the clash by 133 runs via the D/L method.

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#2 Record against top nations

Suresh Raina during an ODI against England. Pic: Getty Images

If we look at Dhoni’s performance against the top one-day teams of the era he played in, he scored 1660 runs against Australia in 55 matches at an average of 44.86 with two hundreds. He also did well against England and New Zealand, averaging 46.84 and 49.47, respectively.

Dhoni scored 1546 runs against the Englishmen in 48 games and 940 against the Kiwis in 28 matches. The keeper-batter, however, had an underwhelming record against South Africa. He scored 830 runs in 37 matches, averaging under 32.

Taking a closer look at Raina’s performances against the top sides, he did reasonably well against England, scoring 1207 runs from 37 games at an average of 41.62. Despite his immense talent, he registered pretty disappointing numbers against the other big teams.

His inability to deal with the short ball was one of the key factors behind his failure to dominate quality bowling attacks. He averaged 31.58 in 25 one-dayers against the Aussies, 34.25 in 13 games against New Zealand, and a hugely disappointing 20.88 after playing 19 matches against South Africa.

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#3 Performance in World Cups

Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni celebrate one of their many wins. Pic: Getty Images

One of the best parameters to gage the ability and attitude of a player is to analyze his performances on the biggest stages of all - in the case of ODIs, it is obviously the World Cup.

Dhoni represented Team India in 29 World Cup games from 2007 to 2019. He smashed 780 runs in the tournament at an average of 43.33. His standout effort, without an iota of doubt, came in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, when he led from the front with an unbeaten 91 off 79 balls. He also scored a fighting 65 in the 2015 semi-final against Australia in Sydney. It was in a losing cause though as India fell way short in a massive chase of 329.

In comparison, Raina played 12 World Cup games from 2011 to 2015. The left-hander scored 358 runs at an average of 59.66 with one hundred. He played crucial cameos in the 2011 quarter-finals and semi-finals against Australia and Pakistan, respectively.

He also smashed 74 off 56 in the 2015 World Cup group clash against Pakistan. Raina’s lone World Cup hundred came during the same edition against Zimbabwe.

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Dhoni or Raina?

Both batters have made significant contributions to Indian cricket in the one-day format. However, Dhoni’s performance against top teams, and on the big stage, made him the better batter of the two without a doubt.

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