Suresh Raina - 10 years of international cricket

Suresh Raina is set to celebrate 10 years of international cricket. Yes, you heard it right. He is still young, but the 28-year-old debuted against Sri Lanka on July 30, 2005. The journey to stardom though hasn't been easy for the elegant southpaw as he made a duck in his first international outing when he failed to read the doosra of the Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan.He has come a long way after that disastrous start. The Uttar Pradesh Ranji team captain is now a vital cog in the Indian ODI and T20 side. He is one of those guys who can change the course of the game in the blink of an eye with his power hitting.He has always been a selfless player who does everything for the team's needs, batting down the order when needed though he has always expressed his desire to bat at the top of the order. The first thing he says when he receives the Man of the Match award is, "God has been really kind". According to him the most important thing is to be a good human being.Here are 10 things that make Raina a special player:

#10 81* against England in Faridabad (2006)

Raina showed tremendous maturity at the age of 19

Chasing 227, India were struggling at 80-4 in the 22nd over. A then 19-year-old Raina walked in next. India lost yet another wicket soon after and were rattling at 92-5.

Raina however, rose to the occasion and played a matured innings that guided India to a 4 wicket victory. It was his first fifty and the 89 ball knock consisted of 8 boundaries and a six. The pitch was slow and wasn't easy to bat on, but the left-handed batsman made it look effortless. That innings made the world realize that this young man was someone special.

#9 Asia Cup 2008

Raina had a terrific 2008 Asia Cup

The 2008 Asia Cup remains one of the highlights of Raina's career. He scored 372 runs at an excellent average of 74.40 and a majestic strike rate of 110.38. He won 3 back-to-back Man of the Match awards in that tournament against Hong Kong, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In the first game against Hong Kong, he scored a blistering 101 from just 68 balls, the knock consisting of 5 sixes and 7 fours. In the next game, he played another splendid innings against Pakistan. Chasing 300, the swashbuckling batsman scored a 69 ball 84 that helped India win the match with 47 balls to spare.

Raina then scored his highest score(116*) in ODIs in the 3rd match of the series as India thrashed Bangladesh by 7 wickets.

It was one of the best series of his career as he scored 2 centuries and as many fifties.

#8 Captaincy stint

Suresh Raina had a brief yet successful stint as captain

Raina has captained India on several occasions and is the second youngest player to do so. Whenever he was at the helm, he has got a second string team to manage.

He was first appointed as captain for the tri-series in Zimbabwe also featuring Sri Lanka in 2010. It was a series to forget for the young man as his team won only a single match in the series.

He then captained India against West Indies in West Indies and the visitors won the series 3-2.

In the 2014 ODI series against Bangladesh, with India resting senior players like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Raina was yet again handed the reigns. His captaincy was right on the money in the low-scoring series as India won 2-0.

#7 First Man of the Series award

Raina received his first Man of the Series award against England in the 2012-13 season

Raina had a fantastic outing against England in the 2012-13 home series. He scored 277 runs at a stellar average of 92.33 with four consecutive half-centuries, albeit only two of them resulting in a winning cause.

The left-hander's scores in the series read 50(49), 55(78), 89*(79), and 83(98). His unbeaten 89 in the 4th ODI helped India to beat England by 5 wickets.

For the wonderful consistency with the bat, he was presented with his first Man of the Series award in ODIs. The blistering performance also helped him break into the top 10 in the ICC batsman rankings for the first time.

#6 Team player

Raina is a complete team player

Raina is a team man. He is the first to pat on a bowler's back when a wicket falls or to congratulate a fielder when he takes a catch. The kind of energy he brings into the team is amazing.

He celebrates his teammates' success as his own. If you watch the footage of Virat Kohli’s century against Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup, you can see Raina celebrating even before Kohli does.

He sacrifices his desire to bat up the order since the team management needs him lower down. He is a proven player at the top order and should be ideally batting at a position which allows him to face the maximum number of balls.

#5 2015 World Cup

Suresh Raina shined in the 2015 World Cup

Raina had a very good 2015 World Cup as he scored 284 runs at an average of 56.80 and a strike rate of 110.07. He scored two fifties and a hundred at the grandest stage of world cricket.

Though Virat Kohli scored a hundred in the first match against Pakistan in India's tournament opener, Raina's innings of 74(56) was the turning point of the match. Sanjay Manjerkar said, "Virat got a 100, but Raina played the critical innings. Took 2 catches as well. As much a Man of the Match as Virat."

Against Zimbabwe, India's batting collapsed as the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane failed to deliver. After playing patiently at the start of the innings, the left-hander cut loose in the latter stages of his knock of 110 from 104 balls. Along with Dhoni, he added an unbeaten 196 partnership that guided India to a six wicket victory and rightly received the Man of the Match award.

Raina's another important contribution came at the quarter-final. He scored a belligerent 65 of 57 balls in the match against Bangladesh. The partnership of 122 runs with centurion Rohit Sharma helped India score 302 in 50 overs.

#4 First and only Indian to score centuries in all three formats of cricket

First and only Indian player to hit century in all formats of the game

He is the lone Indian batsmen who has scored hundred in all three formats of cricket. He has 5 ODI centuries, one Test hundred and a T20 hundred.

He scored a ton on his debut Test against Sri Lanka in July 2010. Trailing Sri Lanka's mammoth 642, India were struggling at 241-4. In walked Raina, and by the time he departed for a remarkable 120, India were well placed at 497-5.

The century in the shortest format came against South Africa in the 2010 T20 World Cup. The southpaw scored a splendid 101 from just 60 balls which helped India post a huge 186-5. India won the match by 14 runs and Raina was adjudged Man of the Match.

#3 2011 World Cup

Raina’s cameos in the quarter-final and semifinal were crucial in India’s 2011 World Cup triumph

He was warming the bench during the first half of the 2011 World Cup with Mahendra Singh Dhoni opting for the in-form Yusuf Pathan. Raina finally got the opportunity to play against West Indies when Virender Sehwag was injured. Though he couldn't make a significant contribution with the bat in the match, Dhoni persisted with him in the remaining matches and the ploy paid rich dividends.

He played some good cameos in the quarter-final and semifinal. In the quarter-final against Australia, Raina scored 34* from 28 balls and stitched a crucial partnership with Yuvraj Singh. It was an important knock as one more wicket at the time, could have resulted in India losing the match.

The semifinal was no different as Raina played a superb unbeaten innings of 36(39). India were struggling at 205-6 when Dhoni departed, but the classy southpaw played a calm and composed knock with tailenders and helped India to post a healthy 260 on the board.

He didn't score any hundreds or fifties, but those two 30s were of great significance. Gary Kirsten, the then coach of India, said, "Raina won the World Cup for us with some crucial knocks".

#2 Best fielder in the Indian team

The current Indian team has some very good fielders in the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane. But Raina stands out from the rest because he has the rare ability to field at any position with equal amount of ease.

The words from all-time great Jonty Rhodes proves the worth of Raina.

"I love watching Suresh Raina. Raina is phenomenal. There is not a ball which goes past him without him diving for it."

In the Asia Cup match against Pakistan in 2012, he took a spectacular catch which shows his amazing fielding prowess. In the 49th over of the opposition innings, Younis Khan played an inside-out extra cover drive, the ball was travelling quickly and Raina took a one-handed blinder.

#1 Man of the Series against England on their home turf

Raina was instrumental in India’s ODI series win against England in 2014

The Test series against England in 2014 presented the same overseas story for India though the team managed to win the Lord's Test (India lost the series 3-1). The Indian team was feeling down after the poor performance in the five-day format and everybody thought that the side would fail in the ODI series too.

But Raina had other plans. He turned the tables with a brilliant 75-ball century in Cardiff. By virtue of his devastating knock, India scored 304-6 and won the match by 133 runs. He was good with the ball as well picking up 4 wickets at an average of 29.25 and an economy rate of 4.68.

India won the ODI series thanks to the enormous energy Raina brought into the team. For his all round performances, he got the Man of the Series award.