Top 5 underrated ODI knocks of Suresh Raina

#1 36 off 39 balls against Pakistan at Mohali (2011)

It was the high voltage semi-final for India against Pakistan in Mohali. The hosts got off to a flyer batting first by scoring 48 in 5.5 overs before Sehwag was dismissed. Gambhir tried to stitch a partnership with but got stumped for 27.

A dream spell from Wahab Riaz saw him picking up Kohli and the in-form Yuvraj in quick succession. Dhoni tried hard but couldn’t convert into to a big score. All of this was happening even as Tendulkar was anchoring the innings from the other end.

Raina came in to the crease at the start of 38th over and things looked rather bleak for the team. With 12 overs remaining, 230 to 240 was the projected score. He played a different kind of innings that day.

Even though there was no one to support him at the other end during the death overs, he stuck to his game plan and played the batting powerplay extremely well. His placement was precise and runs flowed. The southpaw ran hard, converted ones into twos and played some incredible shots.

India eventually managed to set a challenging target on this pitch. 36 runs might not be a big score but his contribution at 7 was invaluable. A target of 260 meant that score board pressure was on and the Men in Blue won the match by 29 runs. Sachin won the ‘Man of the Match’ but it was Raina who swelled India's total.