• Home
  • Player Stories
  • Otd In 2014 The Night Mr Ipl Suresh Raina Belted Pbks With An Unthinkable 25 Ball 87

OTD In 2014: The Night Mr IPL Suresh Raina Belted PBKS With An Unthinkable 25-Ball 87

Soumyajit Dutta

Suresh Raina [Source: @Sivy_Raina3/X]Suresh Raina [Source: @Sivy_Raina3/X]

May 30th, 2014. Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium crackled with IPL playoff tension. Kings XI Punjab had just posted a mammoth 226/6, powered by Virender Sehwag's blistering 122. For Chennai Super Kings, chasing under lights, the required rate was a daunting 11.35. 

Then entered Suresh Raina. What followed wasn't just an inning; it was a supernova. From the moment he arrived in the first over, Raina existed in a different dimension. 

Raina's Whirlwind Decimated Punjab

Sandeep Sharma was shredded for 20 in the second over. Mitchell Johnson, the tournament's most fearsome quick, was disdainfully pulled over deep backward square. The fifty came up in a mere 16 balls – the second-fastest in IPL history at the time – yet it felt like he was barely trying.

The Powerplays became a surreal exhibition. Parvinder Awana bore the brunt in the sixth over, disappearing for 33 runs in a sequence that read like a nightmare - 6, 6, 4, 4, 4 Nb, 4, 4. One effortless straight six, a flick screaming past midwicket – all executed with chilling precision.

Raina Penetrates Punjab's Bowling

By the end of six overs, CSK were 100/2. Raina himself was 87 off just 25 balls. The impossible chase suddenly looked absurdly simple. Sehwag's century paled in comparison. The required rate had plummeted to under 9.

The knock that sent KXIP's hopes for a toss was indeed a special one from Raina as he recalled it years later. "Only thing was running through my mind was not to give up & make it through. So badly wanted to make it to the finals. It will always remain a very special knock for me," Raina later tweeted about his innings.

The Trance & The Tragic Twist

Cut to the match, Raina seemed untouchable, batting in a "trance," making time and physics bend to his will. He tore up 87 runs of the 227-run target in a flash, leaving CSK needing a manageable 127 from 14 overs with wickets in hand. It looked like only a run-out could stop him.

Tragically for CSK, that's exactly what happened. A moment of miscommunication with Brendon McCullum, combined with sharp captaincy from George Bailey and Bailey's own brilliant fielding – a sprint, pick-up, and lightning-direct hit while turning – ended Raina's epic. He was caught well short.

Raina's 'Mr. IPL' Legacy

The direct hit didn't just break the stumps; it shattered the spell Raina had cast. The enormity of the task flooded back for CSK, while KXIP found renewed belief. From 100/0 after 6 overs, CSK could only muster 102 in the next 14. MS Dhoni's last-ball six was mere consolation in a 24-run defeat.

Though the dream ended abruptly, May 30th, 2014, remains etched in IPL folklore as the night Suresh Raina, the quintessential 'Mr. IPL', played perhaps the most electrifying, match-altering innings the tournament has ever seen, even if only for six unforgettable overs.