One of India’s most selfless players, Suresh Raina made a name for himself by becoming the first Indian player to register a T20 hundred. Raina was an integral part of the Indian team when MS Dhoni was the skipper however, the team management has not been kind to him ever since Virat Kohli took over. The Ghaziabad-based player has represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20I matches where he has amassed nearly 8,000 runs.
He usually bats in the middle order and his role is to take the innings’ run rate to the next level. Very few fans would remember that the left-handed batsman made his ODI debut way back in 2005 against Sri Lanka. Since Raina rose to prominence after the invention of the Indian Premier League, hardly anyone would be able to recollect how he fared in his debut match.
Well, today we will look back at that match and will also talk about the one surprising thing that happened in that match. For those of you who do not know, Suresh Raina got out for a golden duck in his maiden ODI match. Muttiah Muralitharan got him out leg before as a young Suresh Raina walked back to the pavilion in disappointment.
India scored 205 runs in the first innings and later lost the match by 3 wickets. Speaking about the surprising thing that happened in that match, the wicket-keeper of India, MS Dhoni had opened the innings for India in that match.
Every fan has complained that Dhoni needs to bat higher up the order, however, when he opened the innings for India in 2005, Dhoni could only score 2 runs off 7 deliveries before his stumps were rattled by Dilhara Lokuhettige. It was an unfortunate thing that transpired but still, the Indian team surprised everyone by sending MS Dhoni out as the opener.
