IPL 2021: Raina too joins 200 club

As the Chennai Super Kings took on reigning champions the Mumbai Indians in Match 27 of the IPL at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Saturday night, it brought up a landmark for veteran Suresh Raina.

The Chennai Super Kings batsman became only the fourth player to play 200 matches in the IPL.

Raina, who has played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is for India, joined an elite list of players, his captain MS Dhoni, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik of the Kolkata Knight Riders, to achieve the feat.

The 34-year-old Raina has scored 5491 runs with 39 fifties and one century. He is third on the list of the highest run-getters in IPL history behind Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan of the Delhi Capitals.

Ahead of the game, Raina had tweeted: “Big game coming up! Feeling pumped up for tomorrow! Keep cheering for us! #Believe @ChennaiIPL #WhistlePodu”

But Raina could only manage two runs from four balls before he was dismissed by Kieron Pollard.

Rohit had reached the milestone during last year’s IPL final against the Delhi Capitals in Dubai. Karthik got to the landmark during the ongoing tournament.

MS Dhoni leads the list with 211 matches followed by Rohit Sharma, who has played 207 games. Karthik has played 203 matches. This season marked Dhoni’s 200th game for the Chennai Super Kings and 200th match as captain of the franchise.

Kohli too is on the threshold of the landmark and the Indian captain will get there when he takes to the field against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on Monday.

james@khaleejtimes.com

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