MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina: A partnership for the ages

Amidst Independence Day celebrations, former India cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni took to Instagram to announce his retirement from international cricket. In his characteristic subtle way, MS Dhoni posted a video montage consisting of his memories in the blue jersey.

‘Mai pal do pal ka shayar hu. Pal do pal meri kahani hai’- a song which India’s beloved ‘captain cool’ associates with himself, was used as a backdrop in the emotional video. And just like that, Dhoni bid goodbye in a poetic way.

However, the song was not the only thing accompanying Mahi on his retirement journey. Moments later, CSK teammate Suresh Raina declared that he would be following in the footsteps of his mentor.

It is no secret that MS Dhoni and Raina are incredibly close to each other after sharing the dressing room for nearly 2 decades. The fact that they hung up their boots together is a testament to the fact. However, this sudden announcement by the two veteran players has sent shockwaves across the entire nation.

Slow start to the innings

Cricketers from the subcontinent often face several issues while transitioning to international cricket. They face many challenges while getting accustomed to the highest level of cricket. The stories of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina are no different.

MS Dhoni, the boy from Ranchi who toiled hard in Kharagpur, burst onto the scenes in 2004 with his stylish long hair. As a junior player, MS Dhoni was subject to the bullying nature of senior players in the team, particularly Yuvraj Singh.

The Punjab batsman used to pull MS Dhoni’s leg and call him ‘Bihari’ along with other seniors in the team. MS Dhoni himself claimed in an interview that no matter how well he played, Singh would not be impressed and would always find a way to criticize him.

Suresh Raina, who was staying in a sports hostel at Lucknow, found it hard to cope up seniors who would bully him. He would be beaten up by hockey sticks and faced constant abuse. Thankfully, after a year Raina quit the hostel and was given a scholarship.

Things can get really hard for a young player when they visit a foreign land for the first time. In 2003, Raina toured England to play club cricket as a teenager. Neither did he know how to speak in English nor could he understand the language.

He found the dormitories haunted and could hardly cope with the cold weather. As he progressed up the ranks, Raina became more confident and learned the intricacies of traveling abroad.

On his initial foreign tours, MS Dhoni admittedly struggled with the English language as well. He found it hard to understand the accent of English and Australian locals. During a TV show, Dhoni revealed that when he could not understand their accent, he would simply say ‘yeah’ or try and escape the conversation.

Raina’s friendship with Mahi is well known and dates long back. Before making his debut, Raina was sharing his room with a shy MS Dhoni who was into his first year as an international cricketer.

Raina, who was not accustomed to sleeping on a bed, decided to sleep on the floor. A generous MS Dhoni would join him on the floor saying, “Mujhe bhi aadat nahi hai”. From sleeping on the floor in their initial days to now having cozy beds in top 5-star hotels around the world, their friendship has come a long way.

Playing for the country is the ultimate dream for young players and grinding their way through the domestic and India A levels is the only route to reach the dream. But sometimes things don’t go your way and you need to be patient with yourself.

Both MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina began their careers disastrously. MS Dhoni made his debut against Bangladesh in December 2004. He could only manage to face a ball before getting run out for a duck. In the final two matches of the series, he added a paltry 19 runs, and questions over his selection were raised.

Fast forward to July 2005, the Indian team was set to play an ODI series in Sri Lanka. MS Dhoni had cemented his position as the team’s wicketkeeper after scoring a sparkling 148 against Pakistan.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni after completing his century en route to 148 against Pakistan in 2004

In the first match, a 19-year-old Suresh Raina was all set to make his debut under the backing of Rahul Dravid. India won the toss and elected to bat first. Coming out to bat at number six, Suresh Raina got out on a first-ball duck. Muttiah Murlidharan’s dusra proved to be too hot to handle for the southpaw.

Despite a dismal performance in his debut match, Raina left an impression of a hard-hitting batsman who was lightning on the field and could chip in with a few overs.

The pinnacle of Indian cricket

The world first got a glimpse of a Dhoni-Raina partnership in 2005 at Pune. India were chasing Sri Lanka’s target of 261 runs. Rahul Dravid batted beautifully for his 63. However, India suffered a collapse when Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando restricted them to 180/6 from being in a strong position at 176/3. Suddenly, the Islanders looked favorites to win the fixture.

With pressure mounting and the asking rate climbing, young guns Raina and MS Dhoni took charge. They held their nerves to take India past the finish line in the 46th over. Dhoni made 45 off 43 balls while Raina scored a 30 ball 39. The 82 runs partnership between the wicketkeeper and the left-handed batsman showed the world what they were capable of doing.

During the 2010s Dhoni and Raina formed the core of Indian batting in limited overs cricket

Earlier, in the 3rd match of the same series, MS Dhoni was promoted to No.3 to accelerate the scoring rate. He finished with an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls to win the game for India. He broke several records in this iconic innings and was declared the man of the series.

In the next few months, both MS Dhoni and Raina continued to climb up the ladder of success and finished off several games for India.

However, Suresh Raina who was already hyped up as the next big thing, suffered his first setback when he was dropped after a poor one-day series in South Africa in 2006.

His comeback bid got hampered when he suffered a career-threatening knee injury. The swashbuckling left-hander watched India crash out of the 2007 Cricket World Cup from home after being bedridden for six months.

Raina had the support of senior players like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar who had advised him not to rush his comeback and do as the doctor suggests. Meanwhile, his fortunes started to turn. Things started to go well for him. He had a good domestic season.

Then the IPL happened. Suresh Raina was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the auction and was reunited with his old friend MS Dhoni who had led India to the inaugural World T20 title in 2007. After his success as a T20 captain, it was a natural progression for Dhoni into one-day captaincy and later Tests.

On the back of a successful IPL stint with CSK where he scored 421 runs at a strike-rate of 142.22, Raina made a comeback to the ODI team.

Raina plays a big shot for Chennai in the IPL

During the Asia Cup in Pakistan, Raina scored his first century in International cricket against Hong Kong- three years after making his debut. MS Dhoni, batting at no. 4 was off the blocks quickly scoring 109 off 96 balls while Raina scored 101 runs off 68 balls. The last 50 runs of his innings came in just 16 balls as they blasted past Hong Kong to win the game by 256 runs.

Another significant milestone in the Raina-Dhoni partnership came in 2010. Suresh Raina, after initial struggles with the short-pitched deliveries, put the foot on the accelerator against a hapless South African side in a World T20 group stage clash.

He scored 101 off 60 balls to become India’s first-ever centurion in T20 internationals. Raina celebrated the occasion with a hug with his companion MS MS Dhoni who was at the other end.

The hug was not the usual one. From the outside, it looked special. Almost to say ‘thank you Mahi Bhai for believing in me and unlocking my true potential’. Later that year. He would go on to become the first Indian to score a century in all three formats with a ton on Test debut.

In the same year, MS Dhoni, one of India’s favorite cricketing sons, was tying the knot with Sakshi in Dehra Dun. The marriage was a secretive affair.

Dhoni did not invite many teammates to his wedding. It was only a few close friends like RP Singh and Suresh Raina who were in attendance. This was a testament to the strong bond of friendship between the two players.

By 2011, Raina had become an integral part of coach Gary Kirsten’s limited-overs set up. He was on the bench for the first half of the ICC Cricket World Cup with captain MS Dhoni picking Yusuf Pathan ahead of him. This remained so until the group game against West Indies. Captain Cool kept his most trusted card unused before introducing him just before the knockout stage.

Raina chipped in with match-winning cameos in the quarter-final against Australia and the semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan. A confident player, the southpaw took India towards the finish line in both knockout games. Gary Kirsten later went on to claim that it was Suresh Raina who had won India the World Cup with his crucial knocks.

Pakistan v India - 2011 ICC World Cup Semi-Final

In the final against fellow neighbors Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir set up the game with a brilliant 97 before getting dismissed by Thisara Perera in the 42nd over. Skipper MS Dhoni in a surprising move promoted himself in the batting order before Yuvraj Singh who had been one of the best players for India in the tournament.

MS Dhoni, in his usual style, kept himself busy at the crease before applying the finishing touches with his magnificent 91 runs. India lifted the World Cup after 28 years.

The World Cup triumph is arguably the greatest contribution of the Mahi-Raina partnership. Both Raina and Captain Cool had not come to the party until the knock-out stages of the tournament.

While Raina’s contributions were key to India’s success, MS Dhoni became a cult hero in India. His six off Nuwan Kulasekara to finish off the match is synonymous with this golden era of Indian cricket where India won everything that was there to win under his leadership.

India v Sri Lanka - 2011 ICC World Cup Final

Troughs and crests

After the 2011 World Cup, MS Dhoni, the captain, came under immense pressure. India endured multiple series losses in England, Australia, and even at home. Senior players like VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar all departed in the following years.

India underwent a tough transition period, losing to South Africa and New Zealand away and failed to reach the final of the 2014 Asia Cup.

However, MS Dhoni persisted with the players he had and backed them to perform. The nucleus of the team was built around young players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja.

This new period in MS Dhoni’s life saw him become more assertive as a captain and the world witnessed a new side of him. He became a mentor to young players- a role he continued to play till his last days as a cricketer.

In 2013, India defeated England in the final to win the Champions Trophy. MS Dhoni’s calm demeanor in a pressure situation and his astute reading of the game resulted in some game-changing decisions which went in the team’s favor.

With this achievement, MS Dhoni became the first captain to win all three ICC trophies, namely ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World T20, and ICC Champions Trophy.

The new Indian team led by Captain Cool was bubbling with youthful exuberance. In the likes of Kohli, Rohit, Raina, and Jadeja, India had gun fielders who contributed immensely on the field. This team was determined to be the best fielding side in the world- a long-standing wish of the captain.

India’s preparations going into the 2015 Cricket World Cup looked poor as they were comprehensively beaten by Australia and England in a tri-series down under. The team lost all their matches and looked out of place.

However, India carried no baggage and began the tournament with a clean slate. India made a strong start in the World Cup with victories against Pakistan, South Africa, UAE, West Indies, and Ireland. In the last group stage match against Zimbabwe, India were chasing a tricky total of 288 owing to a brilliant hundred by Brandon Taylor.

India began their chase with a jittery start. With just 92 runs on board, the top 4 batsmen were back in the hut by the 22nd over. The responsibility to take the team over the finish line once again rested on the shoulders of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina.

India v Zimbabwe - MS Dhoni and Raina stitched together 196 run partnership to take India past the finish line.

Initially, the two batsmen steadied the ship with aggressive running between the wickets and the occasional boundaries. As the innings progressed into the later stages of the game, they started hitting some destructive shots against a helpless Zimbabwean bowling attack. With their exemplary batting performance, the pair saved India from suffering a humiliating defeat against Zimbabwe.

Raina made 110 off 104 balls while MS Dhoni scored 85 off 76 balls to stitch together a partnership of 196 runs- highest partnership stand for any wicket in a successful run-chase for India in World Cups.

Winding down the innings

MS Dhoni has never had a conventional approach to farewells.

Having done two interviews with the media post the MCG Test in 2014, least did anybody expect him to announce his retirement from the format. Even the members of the cricket team were unaware of their captain’s step.

It was the penultimate day of 2014 and Dhoni and the company had successfully drawn a Test match against a strong Australian team. The hosts were 2-0 up in the series and India were due to play in Sydney next week.

Just when everything seemed to be business as usual, BCCI sent a press release to the media. News broke out that MS Dhoni had played his last test match.

Raina takes a selfie after MS Dhoni announces retirement from Test cricket in 2014

However, there was one man who was aware of MS Dhoni’s decision from before. On the eve of the final day, MS Dhoni had dropped hints to his trusted friend Suresh Raina. The skipper signed his jersey and presented it to his dear friend. Raina was shell-shocked. He could barely sleep that night.

In the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, Raina was seen wearing MS Dhoni’s jersey with 251 printed on it- MS Dhoni’s Test cap number. Unfortunately, the Sydney Test was the last of the 18 Raina played for India. The UP-based cricketer’s persistent woes with the short ball largely justified his omission from the longest format of the game.

The former captain probably likes the tag ‘enigma’ which has stuck around him for a while now. Dhoni played his last official match in July 2019. People had been speculating about his retirement for a year now. However, MS Dhoni didn’t owe any explanation to BCCI or anybody. He just left. An end to a glorious era.

Second Innings

Apart from the trademark Captain Cool last over finishes or the masterful Suresh Raina cameos, there are a lot of things Indian fans are going to miss watching.

MS Dhoni had this innate ability to get the best out of his players. While batting together in the middle order, they closed down numerous matches for India and remained crucial to the team’s success.

Apart from his aggressive batting down the order, Raina could bowl a few handy overs for his captain and was electric on the field. MS Dhoni would often advise Raina where to bowl to a particular batsman and occasionally this piece of communication would be captured by the stump mic.

From riding the man-of-the-match bikes together to having friendly banter with each other during ad shoots. Everything about the two cricketers will be missed.

With curtains drawn on an international career, MS Dhoni and Raina will now shift their focus on performing for CSK in the IPL next month. The two players have been pillars of the Chennai-based side since its inception. While MS Dhoni is 39 years-old Raina is 33. Both have a few more years of cricket left in them.

Raina and Dhoni enjoying a bike ride together