5 Prominent trump cards of MS Dhoni

2. Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina may not have done anything as heroic as Joginder Singh but he has been Dhoni’s main trusted aid in the bowling department. Raina has been the player for India’s who balances bat and ball in the team. While it is his batting abilities that are superior and have won India many matches but keen followers would admit that his bowling contributions have also been crucial for India over the year.

Limited overs specialist Raina is skipper Dhoni’s first option whenever the time to slow down the opposition came, especially when they had left-handers in the middle. Apart from clogging runs, Raina has also from time to time broke through with the important wicket for his team. Raina’s most memorable performance with the ball came against West Indies at Nehru Stadium in Kochi where he took a mmatch-defining3/34 in 10 overs. After being made to bat first, West Indies had resurrected their innings after losing Gayle early.

Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo had steadied the innings and Dhoni sensed danger. After seeing the duo settling down against the frontline bowler, Dhoni, as expected, brought in Raina into the attack. The off-spinner didn’t take long and made Samuels depart to break the stand. He followed up this vital wicket with two more important wickets of that of Lendl Simmons and Narsingh Deonarine and help India bundle out Windies for just 211.

Also Watch: Suresh Raina amazes with a great run-out off his own bowling