Suresh Raina - 6 Top notch knocks in ODIs

#4 India vs England, 2012-13, 5th ODI, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala, 83

This was one of the single-handed knocks played by Raina in his ODI career

It seems Raina vs England would always end up being a fruitful battle for the former. The fifth ODI between India and England at the picture-perfect Dharamsala was no different. India had already won the series and was leading 3-1 in the five-match series. So, there was not much pressure for India, but still, the thoughts of making it 4-1 were well and truly on.

England won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that seemed to have paid rich dividends, considering the start that they got with the new ball. Bresnan and Finn were proving to be lethal as India got one of the worst possible starts. Rohit fell for 4, Kohli for a golden duck and Yuvraj too fell without the troubling the scorers as India were 24/3 at one stage.

24/3 became 49/4 as Gambhir fell for 24. Once again, Raina and Dhoni joined hands but this time, the repair work was limited to just 30 runs as Dhoni departed for a paltry 15. At 79/5, India had already lost the core of the batting lineup, with only Raina being the lone survivor. The all-rounders and the lower half of the lineup had to support Raina, and it was not going to be easy considering the sorry tale of the main batsmen.

The wickets at the other end did not seem to disturb Raina as he continued playing his shots. He found a very good partner in Ravindra Jadeja and the partnership of 78 runs came in handy for India. Jadeja fell at the wrong time, but Raina had already taken India past shame. He had brought some respectability to the total, thanks to his sensible 83 off just 98 balls. The fact that Raina had a strike rate of 85 with wickets tumbling at the other end, goes to show that he could mix caution with aggression when needed. Raina fell for 83, and a late flourish from Bhuvi, who scored a run-a-ball 31, took India to 226.

A target of 227 was always going to be easy for an English lineup that had the class of Root, Pietersen, Bell and Morgan, to a name a few. England as expected, made light work of the target as they got there with 7 wickets and 16 balls to spare.

Though India lost the game, this game will be remembered for one of the outstanding innings played by Suresh Raina in his entire career. He took India to a total of respect without any handy contributions from the other batsmen. The fact that Raina ended up with 83 runs and the next top scorer being Jadeja, who made 39, again shows how dependable Raina can be, at times of crisis. Such lone warrior innings are rare in ODI cricket and this innings again reinstated the fact that Raina can very well bat with the lower half of the lineup and rescue India.

Because of his single-handed knock to take India to a total of respectability, Raina's 83 will certainly find a place in the list of top knocks that he has played in his ODI career.