Suresh Raina made a comeback to the Indian side after one year and justified his selection for the T20 International series against South Africa in style.
Raina, who was promoted at No. 3, scored a brilliant 43 off 27 balls and claimed one wicket to help India beat South Africa in the third and final game of the series.
For his match-winning knock, the southpaw was also awarded the man of the match trophy. Hailing Raina’s performance, Team India head coach Ravi Shastri called the 31-year-old a ‘fearless’ cricketer.
“He’s vastly experienced and he showed what experience can do. What I liked the best was he was fearless,” Shastri told India Today.
“What I liked was the intent because normally when you come back into a side after a long period of time you can be playing for your place. And that can put added pressure on you. But he went out there as if he was never out of the side and batted in that fashion. It was very good to see,” Shastri said.
During the three T20Is in the Rainbow Nation, Raina scored 89 runs at a strike rate of 153.44. He scored 12 boundaries and two sixes in his comeback series.
Due to his impressive show against the Proteas, Raina has also been included in the 15-member squad for the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka, starting March 6.
