IPL 2021: 3 match-winning knocks by Suresh Raina against RCB
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will battle it out against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 24th September 2021 in the second leg of IPL 2021. CSK got off to a confident start in the second leg by defeating the defending champions Mumbai Indians by a margin of 20 runs.
RCB, on the other hand, were bundled out for 92 against Kolkata Knight Riders in their maiden appearance of the second leg of IPL 2021. They lost the match by nine wickets. CSK are placed in second position in the points table whereas RCB are placed third.
Suresh Raina has been one of the main-stays for CSK in the middle-order. He has a decent record against RCB in IPL cricket. In 28 IPL innings against RCB, Raina averages 29.78 and has scored 685 runs that include four half-centuries.
On that note, here is a look at three such match-winning knocks played by Suresh Raina against RCB.
#1. 62 at N. Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 22nd, 2015
Suresh Raina was at his aggressive best in a league match against RCB in the 2015 edition of the IPL. RCB won the toss in a league match in Bangalore and inserted CSK to bat first.
Brendon McCullum was dismissed early on and Suresh Raina came in to bat at number 3. He added 58 runs for the second wicket with Dwayne Smith and 54 runs with skipper M. S. Dhoni.
Raina scored 62 from just 32 balls that included four boundaries and six maximums. He had a strike-rate of 193.75 in the said game.
Riding on his innings, CSK posted a match-winning score of 181. RCB fell short of the target by 27 runs.
Suresh Raina was the Man of the Match for his aggressive knock.
#2. 52 at MA Chidambarium Stadium on May 4th, 2015
Raina played another crucial knock against RCB in the IPL in 2015 and won his second Man of the Match award against them in the said edition of the IPL.
CSK won the toss and decided to make first use of the wicket in Chennai. The pitch was a challenging one and no batsman apart from Suresh Raina scored a half-century in the game.
Dwayne Smith was dismissed without opening his account. Raina thereafter added 34 runs with Brendon McCullum and 64 runs with Faf du Plessis. He played a mature knock of 52 from 46 balls that included five boundaries and a six. His innings helped CSK reach a decent score of 148 in 20 overs.
RCB failed to chase 149 and managed only 124 runs in 20 overs. CSK emerged victorious by a margin of 24 runs.
#3. 73* at Wankhede Stadium on on 24th May 2011
The first qualifying final of the IPL 2011 witnessed a brilliant innings by Suresh Raina, who guided his team to a place in the finals.
Batting first, RCB posted a huge total of 175 with Virat Kohli scoring 70 from 44 balls.
The target of 176 was going to be a challenging one for CSK. Both the CSK openers were dismissed when the score was just seven and the pressure was on Raina. He, however, kept a cool head and added 63 runs with Badrinath, 61 runs with M. S. Dhoni and had an unbeaten partnership of 46 with Albie Morkel.
Raina scored 70 runs from 44 balls that included four boundaries and six maximums. CSK emerged victorious in the game by a margin of six wickets with two balls to spare. Raina was the Man of the Match for his match-winning innings.