Suresh Raina - 6 Top notch knocks in ODIs

#2 India vs Sri Lanka, 2009-10, Tri-Nation Tournament Final, Mirpur, Dhaka, 106

Raina was the lone warrior for India, albeit in a losing cause

This has to be mentioned in the top knocks of Suresh Raina. It was the Finals of the Tri-nation tournament and India was all set to play Sri Lanka, with hosts Bangladesh being eliminated in the group stages of the competition.

Sri Lanka put the Men in Blue to bat first, after winning the toss. They immediately had a hold in the game as India was reduced to 16/3 with Gambhir, Kohli and Yuvraj being the victims, courtesy some brilliant exhibition of fast bowling from Kulasekara and Welegedara. Dhoni did not last long either, as India were reeling at 47/4 with Sehwag still in the crease.

That is where Raina joined Sehwag in the middle and one would have thought that the last recognised batting pair was out in the middle. Sehwag soon fell for a fine 42 off just 27 balls, with the Indian scorecard depicting a sorry tale. At 60/5 and with only Jadeja and the tail to follow, all hopes of India batting out the full quota of 50 overs was in doubt, let alone India winning the game. Again, with India in the brink of facing a massacre, Raina was there to hold the innings together with the tail.

He first combined with Jadeja to form a meaningful century partnership. Jadeja was as slow as a snail, as he limped to 38 off 64 balls, without a single boundary. But he did well to stick around and let Raina do the bulk of the scoring and bring India to some sort of respectability.

Once Jadeja fell for 38, Raina again stitched a superb 47 runs stand with Harbhajan, who contributed a meagre 11. Raina was simply outstanding and unstoppable on that day, as he handled the pressure of a final and the quality bowling of the Lankans with utmost ease. Harbhajan's departure brought in Zaheer to the crease, who never looked like playing a supporting role. He managed 16 quick runs with a couple of boundaries and a sixer. By then, Raina had already completed in what was a delightful 100 under testing circumstances.

When Raina was finally done for the day, he had not only scored a fantastic 106 off 115 balls, but he had also restored the pride of the Indian batting lineup, by taking them past the 240 run mark. It was a total that the bowlers could bowl with, if not win the game for India.

India managed 245 on the board but a combined effort from almost every Lankan batsman meant that they were the victorious team in the end. They chased down the target with 4 wickets, and 9 balls to spare, thanks to Mahela's unconquered 71.

India did not win the game, but Suresh Raina certainly won the hearts of one and all with his crucial 100 that gave India something to bowl at. Here again, the next top scorer in the innings was Virender Sehwag's 42. Raina had managed more than double the runs of the next top-scorer. Certainly, it was one of the finest knocks ever played by Suresh Raina and it was only fair that it came in a crucial final, albeit in a losing cause.