Indian veteran Suresh Raina is back in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp after a gap of two years. He was retained along with MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja and has been appointed as the team’s vice-captain. He is currently playing in a good form which he proved ahead of their opening game against Mumbai Indians (MI) during a practice match on April 1 at the Chepauk stadium, Chennai.
As reported by the sportstarlive, Raina completely nailed it when he walked out to bat in a practice game. Initially, he didn’t get into the flow and failed to score enough runs. He faced 27 balls and scored 34 runs, including four boundaries and a six over long-on. But when he came to bat for the second time, he set the pitch on fire with his knock. Once again, he faced 27 balls but this time he smashed 7 sixes, 1 boundary and scored a phenomenal 54 runs. He smashed 4 sixes off Deepak Chahar over the mid-wicket while one of them just missed the bowler’s head.
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Watch it for yourself:
It has also been learned from the reports that CSK head coach Stephen Fleming made sure that Raina should have a good stint while batting in the middle. Well, Raina didn’t disappoint his coach and played fearlessly.
Chinna Thala came back to bat in the second innings and what an innings it has turned out to be for him and the #WhistlePoduArmy. An unbeaten 57 off 24 that included a whopping 7 sixes. #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/10PcAi7lxh
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 1, 2018
Apart from Raina, team’s wrist-spinners also did a decent job. Imran Tahir’s deliveries completely bamboozled the batsmen. He picked 4 wickets off just 14 runs. On the other hand, spinner Karn Sharma conceded 29 runs in four overs and picked 2 scalps.
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Dwayne Bravo showcased a good all-round performance in the game. He had a decent hit-in-the-middle and picked a wicket in a spell of three overs.
Indian middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav struggled in the middle and lost his wicket thrice over the two innings. Skipper MS Dhoni couldn’t make it to the practice as he had to visit Delhi to receive the Padma Bhushan award.
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CSK will play their first home game on April 10 against Dinesh Karthik-led Kolkata Knight Riders.
