Suresh Raina goes past MS Dhoni in T20I run charts

Everything seemed to be going wrong for discarded Indian batsman Suresh Raina last year, and many thought that his comeback to the national team was almost impossible. In the Ranji Trophy last year, the veteran Uttar Pradesh batsman could not score more than 105 runs in five games – at an alarming average of 11.66. Besides, he last played for India in February 2017, after which reports suggested that his failure to pass the yo-yo test which kept him out of the mix.

However, his turnaround began in the Syed Mushtaque Ali Trophy knockout games in Kolkata, in which we performed really well. What followed thereafter was his India recall – for the series against South Africa – in which he scored 145 runs in three T20Is. On the basis of these performances, his recall was further extended to the Nidahas Trophy, in which he is trying to make the most of the absence of senior players like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.

Past Dhoni’s numbers

In the on-going tri-series, Raina has 56 runs in three matches, and an interesting stat has emerged from him the tournament. The UP batsman has gone past his CSK teammate and former captain MS Dhoni in terms of the runs scored for India in T20Is. While Raina has 1452 runs in T20Is, Dhoni has 1444 runs to his name. On Monday, in his knock of 27 runs, Raina smashed two boundaries and two sixes before losing his wicket to Nuwan Pradeep. In his overall T20I career spanning 71 games, Raina has scored one century and four fifties at a strike rate of 133.70.

Third most sixes by an Indian

The CSK batsman also became the third Indian cricketer to hit 50 sixes in T20Is, a landmark that he reached during the second T20I against Bangladesh. Yuvraj Singh is on top of the Indian list with 74 sixes while Rohit Sharma is at the second place with 69 sixes.

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