In modern day’s cricket, at the heart of almost every successful team is an explosive and adept lower middle-order batting unit. It consists of a batsman with a great understanding of the game, and one who can manoeuvre the game according to what situation demands at a particular moment.
For Australia in their heyday, Michael Bevan used to play this role.
For India, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni did the same for quite some time. They added a final touch to the foundations laid by top-order, rescued the team when batsmen above them collapsed like a pack of cards and pulled out numerous improbable victories for India.
As cliche as it might sound, the duo was a perfect blend of ice and fire. While Raina was an aggressive southpaw who usually batted with a no-holds-barred approach, Dhoni, in contrast, played his game with zen-like calmness.
Raina and Dhoni started their cricketing career at the same time, their peak coincided with each other, and it’s quite fitting that both of them even chose to retire on the same day, within a space of some thirty minutes.
The 33-year-old Raina stated that he hugged the former Indian skipper and cried a lot after announcing their retirements.
“I knew Dhoni would announce his retirement upon reaching Chennai, so I was ready. I, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar and Karn Sharma reached Ranchi on 14th with the chartered plane, and picked up Mahi bhai and Monu Singh,” said Raina to the national daily Dainik Jagran.
“After announcing our retirement, we hugged and cried a lot. I, Piyush, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Karn sat together after that, talked about our careers and our relationship. We partied during the night.” he added.
While the international career is surely over for both these talismans, they will continue plying their trade for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
