Dwayne Smith is our main all-rounder: Suresh Raina

Dwayne Smith bowled a really impressive spell for the Gujarat Lions (GL) in their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur on Thursday. Smith helped his side to win the match by picking up a 4-wicket haul.

The West Indian picked up the wickets of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Piyush Chawla and Shakib Al Hasan and thus restricted KKR to 124 runs in 20 overs, which the Lions chased down in just 13.3 overs. Skipper Suresh Raina played a good hand of 53 from 36 balls and took the team home.

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Raina said that the last two games are crucial for them to get to the playoffs. “I think the last two games are really important for us. When you are in doubt to reach top four, then you have to win each and every game.”

“I think Smith had bowled really well. I have always felt he is not the main batsman, but he is always a main all-rounder. He has always hit the ball really hard. At the same time, when he chips in and bowl crucial four overs that set the game for us,” he said after the win against Kolkata.

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Talking about his bowling performance, Smith said, “I hit the areas I wanted to hit and it paid off for me. From the day we landed, it has been very hot, so I just tried to relax in my room. I told myself that I’m good enough to bowl here as well. So I keep backing myself and I know things will work well for me that way.”