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Chennai Super Kings (CSK)'s senior batsman Suresh Raina is one of the legends of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he is the first bonafide superstar of the Indian T20 league.
At the peak of his powers, Suresh Raina was the most destructive batsman in the IPL and has played numerous match-winning knocks for CSK. In fact, for a few seasons, he was the all-time leading run-scorer in the competition before Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli surpassed him.
Suresh Raina's exploits with CSK have earned him the nickname 'Chinna Thala' (second-in-command), with captain MS Dhoni revered as 'Thala' (leader) by the franchise faithful. The three-time champions dearly missed Raina last year, as they failed to qualify for the IPL playoffs for the first time.
Three milestones Suresh Raina could achieve in IPL 2021
In the two matches CSK have played in IPL 2021, Suresh Raina has scored 62 runs, including a half-century.
Ahead of CSK’s clash with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Mumbai tonight, let's take a look at three milestones Suresh Raina could achieve during the IPL 2021 season.
#3 200 matches in the IPL
Suresh Raina began his IPL 2021 campaign, having played 193 games in the competition. He has featured in both matches CSK have played so far, against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).
If the left-hander plays five more matches, he will join an exclusive list of players to have featured in 200 IPL games.
While Raina has featured in 195 IPL games, his CSK captain Dhoni has played in 206. Recently, MS Dhoni appeared in his 200th game for the franchise.
Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma (203) is the only other player to have featured in 200 IPL matches.
Apart from Suresh Raina, there are a few other players too who are set to play their 200th IPL game this season. KKR’s wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has played 199 games in the competition, while RCB captain Virat Kohli is tied with Suresh Raina on 195.
#2 200 sixes in the IPL
In the 195 IPL matches he has played to date, Suresh Raina has slammed 198 sixes. If he manages two more in IPL 2021, which is a very likely proposition, the left-hander will join another exclusive list of batsmen with 200 or more sixes in the T20 competition.
Presently, six players have smashed over 200 sixes in the IPL. Chris Gayle leads the pack by some distance; he has hit 352 sixes in 135 games. Meanwhile, AB de Villiers is next on the list with 240 maximums from 172 matches and is followed by Rohit Sharma, with 217 sixes in 203 games.
CSK captain MS Dhoni follows Rohit Sharma with 216 maximums in 206 IPL games. Kieron Pollard and Virat Kohli complete the top six; both have 201 sixes apiece against their names, doing so in 167 and 195 matches, respectively.
Meanwhile, Suresh Raina is currently tied with another left-hander, David Warner, who has also hit 198 sixes (in 145 matches).
#1 6000 runs in the IPL
Suresh Raina is one of the most prolific run-scorers in IPL history. Despite missing the entirety of IPL 2020, he is second in the list of batsmen with the most runs in the T20 league, next only to Kohli.
In 195 matches, Suresh Raina has amassed 5430 runs at an average of 33.31, with one hundred and 39 fifties. The CSK legend is, in fact, one of only five batsmen with over 5000 runs in the competition - Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner and Rohit Sharma being the others.
If he scores another 570 runs in this edition of the IPL, Suresh Raina will reach the landmark of 6000 runs in the competition. He might not become the first player to do so, though, as Kohli, with 5949 runs, is only 51 runs away from the landmark.
Among other players with 5000-plus runs in the IPL, Shikhar Dhawan has 5383 runs in 179 games, David Warner has 5347 in 145, while Rohit Sharma has compiled 5324 in 203 matches.
Meanwhile, RCB legend AB de Villiers, with 4974 runs from 172 games, is 26 runs short of 5000 IPL runs.
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