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Suresh Raina showed immense patience under pressure
© AFP
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After the hard yards had been gained painfully, inch by inch, Suresh Raina
decided that it was time to shed the cloak of caution and enthrall a crowd
that had spent the best part of the afternoon chanting in vain for fours
and sixes that never came. Having thumped a six over long-on and taken 11
from the 44th over bowled by Ian Blackwell, Raina steadied himself to face
Kabir Ali, so impressive in a four-wicket spell at Delhi.
A superb square-drive pumped up the volume, and there was delirium when it
was followed by an audacious scoop to the fine-leg fence. A dot ball then
created a brief lull before a gorgeous cover-drive emphatically tilted the
game in India's favour. When Irfan Pathan's flick over the infield sealed
the deal minutes later, Raina was unbeaten on 81 from 89 balls, having
accelerated effortlessly from a 69-ball half-century.
Of the 14 successful run chases that have allowed this young side to draw
level with Clive Lloyd's immortals, this was easily among the most
satisfying. Several of the pursuits against Sri Lanka, and all four in
Pakistan, had ultimately been stroke-filled romps for a side whose batting
depth is now the envy of many. But on a sluggish Faridabad pitch where
taking the pace off the ball stymied those with a penchant for playing
shots, two of India's premier flair players saw them home with a
partnership that was all about grit and application.
It's sometimes easy to forget that Raina is only 19, and that he has
replaced a man who was perhaps India's second-greatest one-day
batsman - Sourav Ganguly. With space at a premium in the middle order, and
the ridiculous Supersub-rule necessitating tactical adjustments, his
opportunities since the baptism-by-doosra against Muttiah Muralitharan
have been severely rationed. But even then, the odd cameo was more than
enough to convince many that Greg Chappell's assessment - the coach
reckons that he has it in him to be a future great - was spot on.
At Pune last November, he and Mahendra Singh Dhoni ensured a series win
over Sri Lanka with an 82-run partnership that spanned just 11.1 overs -
after a sudden collapse had left India teetering at 180 for 6. Till this
afternoon, that nerveless 39 had been the focal point of Raina's
international highlights reel, overshadowing the elegant 35 that had
enlivened the five-wicket triumph at Multan.
On a pitch not suited to Dhoni's frenetic approach, Raina was forced to
take the initiative once India had lost five wickets for 31 against the
unheralded Liam Plunkett and Blackwell. With the ball stopping and
turning, and the odd one keeping low, it was apparent that steady
accumulation rather than hell-for-leather was the correct approach. For
two relatively inexperienced players, curtailing their natural instincts
can't have been easy, but they did so with aplomb, getting within range
with plenty of scampered singles and hurried twos.
And on a day when no one - not even the record-equalling Kevin Pietersen -
batted with any particular fluency, there were several miscues and close
calls as well. There was the odd impetuous hoick against the line, but by
and large Raina gathered his runs with the straight-bat strokes that
the pitch and situation demanded. He had his moment of luck on 20, when a
half-hearted prod at a James Anderson delivery was spilled by the bowler's
arm slamming into the ground as he lost balance.
Thereafter, a couple of strokes screamed of a truly extraordinary talent.
Plunkett's return to the attack was greeted with a nonchalant loft over
midwicket, and when Flintoff came round the wicket, he stroked one
insouciantly over mid-on to move closer to 50. At the other end, Dhoni had
blocked out six-requests and eased into the supporting-actor role, not
striking a four - a cheeky paddled reverse-sweep - until the 43rd delivery
that he faced.
Ultimately, England's lack of a second spinner, and Paul Collingwood's
inability to do an Ian Harvey, meant that a determined and committed
effort came to naught. They can take consolation, however scant it may be,
from the fact that they were denied by an exceptional innings from a very
special young player. Sachin Tendulkar may be recuperating from surgery,
and Ganguly airbrushed out of the big picture, but the composure and
hunger that Raina showed today suggests that the future is bright with
promise, rather than tinged with fear.
Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo