Mr IPL as he is known as is definitely one of the all time greatest players to ever play in the IPL and as a result he has been given the name Mr IPL. He has also been one of the best fielders in the history of the IPL. He has played for Chennai Super Kings and has won multiple titles with them and he was known as the Chinna Thala when he was in CSK.
He has played in 205 IPL Matches in his illustrious career and he has made 5528 runs at an average of 32.52 and he had a strike rate of 136.76. He made 1 hundred and he also had 39 half centuries. He truly will be missed in the IPL.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best IPL innings of Mr IPL:
1) 100* vs Punjab Kings (2013)
This is the only Hundred he has scored in his IPL career and it was a special one as he smashed the bowlers all around the ground and in this innings he only played 53 balls and with the help of 7 fours and 6 sixes meaning a total of 78 runs in boundaries and at a strike rate of 188.68 , he made this brilliant Hundred. Chennai Super Kings won this match by 15 runs and he has arrived as a legend in this tournament. Truly one of the all time great IPL hundreds.
Also Read | Best knocks by Hardik Pandya in IPL history
2) 99* vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (2013)
This was the match immediately after the 100 he made against Punjab Kings and this time he was unlucky as he was not out on 99 but it was an equally great innings by him in back to back innings. He was making the most of his purple patch in the IPL. He only faced 52 balls this time and he hit 11 fours and 3 sixes in this innings which means he hit a total of 60 runs in boundaries at a strike rate of 190.38. Chennai Super Kings won this match by a big margin of 77 runs. And Suresh Raina became the backbone of the CSK team.
Also Read | Best knocks of Virat Kohli in IPL
3) 82* vs Mumbai Indians (2013)
2013 was a great year for Suresh Raina in the IPL and this innings is here in this list because this was the first qualifier of IPL 2013 meaning this was the time when the real pressure starts and Suresh Raina stepped up yet again for his team and he was the difference in this match and Chennai Super Kings was in the final . He came to bat at number 3 and only in 42 balls he smashed 82* runs while hitting 5 fours and 5 sixes In this brutal innings which means a total of 50 runs in boundaries. He had a strike rate of 195.24 in this innings and because of his brilliance CSK won this match by 48 runs.
Also Read | Best knocks of MS Dhoni in IPL
4) 87 vs Punjab Kings (2014)
There is no doubt that this is single handedly one of the all time greatest IPL innings of all time and bad it not been for a run out there is no guessing what Suresh Raina would have done this night. Chennai Super Kings was in the second Qualifier of IPL 2014 and they were chasing a target of 227 and he came to bat and he only faced 25 balls in this innings of his and he hit 87 runs at a mind boggling strike rate of 349. He hit 12 fours and 6 sixes in this innings meaning a total of 84 out of the 87 runs in boundaries alone. He had won the match for CSK but after his run out they lost the match but his innings is still fondly remembered. That’s how incredible that innings was.
Also Read | Best Knocks by Rohit Sharma in IPL History
5) 84 vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2017)
This is the only innings in this list which he played for Gujarat Lions who were there for 2 seasons and in those 2 seasons they played good cricket but Suresh Raina was the star of that Team. This was the best innings he played as a part of thav team and this came in a chase against KKR. He made an amazing 84 runs from just 46 balls and in this match winning innings he hit 9 fours and 4 sixes meaning he hit a total of 60 runs in boundaries. He had a strike rate of 183 in this innings and he won the match for his team by 4 wickets. Suresh Raina will never be replaced in the IPL.
Also Read: Top 5 Best IPL innings of AB De Villiers
