Who doesn’t know Suresh Raina? He needs no introduction as his fans’ and teammates’ love for him says it all. And today is the day to celebrate his successful career, selfless journey in the cricket world, and how he became the Chinna Thala for his fans.
We are making this day extra special for all those who want to see more of this sensational Southpaw. Let’s have a look at some lesser-known facts about Suresh Raina, his record-breaking achievements, and the important innings of his career.
Interesting Facts About Thala- Suresh Raina
via:latestly
- South start Suriya is his favorite actor and if a biopic is made in the future, he wants Suriya to do his role
2. Raina is a great cook and often cooks at home. He has even cooked for the Indian cricket team during the Zimbabwe tour
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3. While the world knows him as the best batsman, his loved ones call him Sonu which is his nickname. Fans also call him Chinna Thala and Thala which means leader in the Tamil language
4. He is an ace-cricketer, a good chef, and even a good singer. Raina has sung for the movie “Meeruthiya Gangsters” and dedicated the song to his daughter Gracia Raina.
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Early Cricket Career Of Suresh Raina
via:biographyexplain
Raina comes from Kashmir but Uttar Pradesh can be said to the real birthplace of him. His career started taking shape in the state where he played U-16, U17, and U-19 games. He was also the captain of the state cricket team then.
He was only 16 when he played in the Ranji Trophy championship. Later, he made List A cricket debut and played against several states like MP and Rajasthan. But his performance was consistently poor then.
In the U-19 Asian ODI championship, he showed excellent performance and scored three 50s for which he received a Border-Gavaskar scholarship.
Records List Of Suresh Raina
via:thecricketlounge
There are many feathers added in the cap of Raina among which these 6 are for which he is known:
- Raina with 8000 runs is the first batsman to hit the highest runs in a T20 career
- No other player has scored near to 5000 runs in IPL other than Suresh Raina
- Do you know who has hit more 6s in IPL? It’s Chris Gayle but Raina is the first from India to hit 100 sixes
- Not just batting, Raina is good at fielding too and he has taken most number of catches in the IPL( 102)
- Another feather in the record list of Suresh Raina is that he has scored the most number of the fifties in the history of the T20 Champions League. Raina is also the highest run-scorer in the league with 842 runs
Also Read: IPL 2022: MS Dhoni To Play 3 More Seasons; Jadeja, Ruturaj, & Ali Likely To Retain
5 Best Innings Of Suresh Raina’s Career
via:gqindia
Raina has given the best performances in international matches. The important innings were when he played along with MS Dhoni.
- India vs England ODI 2006- Raina led the team to victory in the third ODI match against England when Dhoni failed to take the lead. He scored 81 runs in 89 balls.
- Ind vs SA 2010- This was one of the toughest matches as South African bowlers were getting wickets easily. Raina came to the field and hit the brilliant shots. He finished with 101 runs and became the first to score a century in T20 internationals.
- World Cup 2011- Suresh Raina helped India lift the World Cup in 2011 by giving his best performance along with Yuvraj Singh.
- Ind vs Eng 2014 ODI- Again Raina and Dhoni showed the magic together with a brilliant partnership in the series. He scored a century in only 75 balls.
- 2015 Match with Zimbabwe- One more time the duo did not disappoint the team and Raina as usual finished with more than 100
These fives are the ones for which he is known as one of the best batsmen of India.