Suresh Raina's selfless retirement shows that he is the ultimate team man
The day is March 24, 2011, and the venue is the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. Those who are in attendance and those watching at home have just witnessed Indian captain MS Dhoni, short of runs and seemingly low on confidence, slash Brett Lee straight into the hands of Michael Clarke at point.
India, playing against a resurgent Australian side, are left needing around 60 runs in 12-odd overs with 5 wickets in hand. On any other day, this would've been a walk in the park - the well-set Yuvraj Singh, fresh off a match-winning hundred against the West Indies, would take his team home.
But this is the World Cup quarter-final, and the new batsman in is Suresh Raina, who has played a grand total of one game in the tournament so far. With only 4 runs under his belt in the World Cup, Raina takes guard against Brett Lee, who, like so many other bowlers in the past and in the future, is expected to zero in on the batsman's helmet.
The southpaw, who comes in as low as No. 7, hangs back in the crease in anticipation, but Lee delivers it fast and full. Suresh Raina just about manages to get bat on ball, before the bouncers arrive. He negotiates the over, and there is a murmur of relief around the ground.
Until the millions watching with bated breath see Shaun Tait hand over his cap to the umpire. Tait cranks it up in the overs to follow, frequently touching 150 kph as he looks to clean up Raina and move on to the tail.
But this is a Suresh Raina who has finally been given the chance to do what he was born to do, and he pulls Lee for four through square before hopping deep into his crease to tickle the Aussie quicks for singles and twos.
Raina and Yuvraj manage to hang in there, and 22 runs are required from the last 5 overs. Brett Lee reenters the attack, sporting a bandage over his eye now but as dangerous as ever. Suresh Raina hovers just in front of the stumps, but sees the ball pitched up. The traditional mow over long-on makes its appearance, and the fans in Ahmedabad erupt as Yuvraj punches his partner's glove.
Yuvraj Singh soon crashes Lee through covers to win the game, and waves his bat around like a madman before claiming another Man of the Match award. Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee slump to the floor in despair as Australia get knocked out for the first time in 15 years in a World Cup.
Suresh Raina charges up to Yuvraj, but his passionate embrace is lost in the celebrations in the crowd and in the dressing room. He had just played the cameo of his life, and he would play another in the semi-final against Pakistan.
But Suresh Raina, who wouldn't get to bat in what can be called the MS Dhoni final, was forgotten in the emotion post the World Cup win.
The innings serves as an embodiment of his career - underrated but utterly crucial. It also exemplifies the presence of the fighter in the Uttar Pradesh man, someone who has overcome technical difficulties to carve a niche for himself as one of India's greats.
Suresh Raina's retirement and the pang of unfulfilled desires
In an Instagram post recently, former Indian captain MS Dhoni announced his international retirement, over a year after he last played for the country.
With the cricketing fraternity yet to register what had just transpired, his Chennai Super Kings vice-captain Suresh Raina soon followed suit, stating that he has chosen to join his Indian Premier League (IPL) skipper on this journey.
In 2017, a time when he was not in the selectors' plans, Suresh Raina spoke of his desire to play for India in another World Cup. He wistfully narrated his dream, in which his daughter cheers him on as he hits the winning runs. Curiously, he names either Australia or Pakistan as the opposition - the same two teams against which he played the knocks that won the 2011 World Cup for India.
"I am playing the 2019 World Cup in England. It’s the final. India is playing Australia or Pakistan. And I hit the winning shot, a four. She is clapping in the stands. The tricolour is flying. Everyone is cheering for me. That’s what I want. That’s what I dream of," Suresh Raina said.
"I don’t care about money, name-fame … all that will be there, and I have done it already. But there’s no greater kick than playing for India, with fans cheering", he added.
These words now seem a distant memory, and a painful one. India's heart-breaking loss in the 2019 World Cup is all too fresh, and the scars inflicted by MS Dhoni's run out are yet to heal.
It was excruciating for us even as fans. But with his daughter next to him at home watching MS Dhoni hold back tears as India wither away in cricket's biggest tournament, how would Suresh Raina have felt?
Suresh Raina could have chosen another day and made it all about himself
In Indian cricket, the superstardom that MS Dhoni experiences can be rivalled only by two players - Virat Kohli and the great Sachin Tendulkar. It can even be argued that MS Dhoni is perhaps the biggest star India has ever produced, given his marketability and appeal to the masses.
Suresh Raina could have chosen another day to announce his retirement - a day not overshadowed by India's greatest-ever captain - and made it all about himself. He would've been the centre of attention, with every one of his achievements for the county revisited, remembered and praised.
Suresh Raina could have ridden off into the sunset in a blaze of social media glory, and he has done enough to deserve that should he have chosen that path. But MS Dhoni's perennial right-hand man at CSK just isn't that kind of character - he is a humble servant of cricket and nothing more.
Perhaps the romance of going out on the day India completed 73 years of independence alongside India's #7 was too perfect an opportunity to pass up for India's #3. Perhaps Suresh Raina didn't see a way back into the national side with the postponement of the T20 World Cup.
But one thing is for certain - Suresh Raina knew that it was the right time.
Suresh Raina, the consummate team man, will be missed
Suresh Raina is a player every captain can only pray for, because he is authoritative without being overbearing and leads by example even if he doesn't have the title of 'captain' next to his name.
The 33-year-old has always been the first to congratulate bowlers after wickets, jumping on them and slapping their behinds with the enthusiasm of the young man who scored 3 fifties in the 2006 U-19 World Cup.
Suresh Raina has always left every last ounce on the field, on the boundary and in the circle. He has always given it all with ball in hand, and is always one of the smiling faces applauding from the dugout when a teammate scores a hundred.
Suresh Raina has batted however he has been asked to; he has bowled whenever he has been asked to; he has fielded wherever he has been asked to. He has been the Indian cricket team's man for all seasons, and hasn't been recognised enough for his service to the country.
But if Suresh Raina's understated retirement is anything to go by, the satisfaction that he gets from knowing that he simply does not have anything left in the tank is enough for him.
In the upcoming edition of the IPL, the second-highest run-scorer in tournament history will clear his front leg and slog the ball over wide long-on. He will make room for himself and caress the ball inside-out over extra cover, almost apologetically.
Raina will also hop around in his crease, forever waiting for the short ball that will make its routine appearance. But he will bat with the freedom of knowing that there are fewer expectations from him. Without fans and the noise that comes with them, Suresh Raina will bat just for the joy of batting without an Indian comeback gnawing at the back of his mind.
Sport is far more cruel than it is rewarding, simply because it transcends life itself for many involved, and Raina's unrequited desires will always cause a pang of agony in every fan's heart.
But for Suresh Raina, who has two beautiful children and a loving wife, life is far more than just cricket.