Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Suresh Raina recently shared an unheard tale involving legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni. Raina went down the memory lane and recalled the scenes after CSK lost to Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2014. He recalled that he never saw Dhoni as angry as he was after that heartbreaking loss at the Wankhede Stadium. He further revealed that Dhoni vented his frustration by throwing pads and helmet in the dressing room.
“I have never seen Dhoni that angry. He vented it out after that match. He was like ‘we don’t score runs, we don’t do this, that’. He threw his pads and helmet in the dressing room. He was irritated that we lost a match that we should have won. He was angry because we lost a match that we shouldn’t have. Otherwise, we would have won the IPL that year as well,” Raina said during a discussion on Lallantop.
Recalling the match, Punjab had posted a mammoth 226/6 after Dhoni invited them to bat in Qualifier 2.
Virender Sehwag led the charge with a 122-run knock of 58 balls while David Miller had smashd 38 off just 19 balls.
In reply, Raina smashed 87 of just 25 balls to give CSK a brisk start. However, CSK lost the match by 24 runs with Dhoni unbeaten on 42 off 31 balls.
Dhoni was later criticised for his slow knock.
Recalling his knock in the match, Raina said that he felt like no one could stop him that night.
“I felt like a man possessed. The previous day, I had a dream that I would do something special. I was seeing the ball like a football. But, I was run out. The ball hitting the bat gave me a very different sound. I was feeling like no one could stop me,” he added.
Meanwhile, Raina retired from all forms of the game after the IPL 2021 season and has been actively involved in commentary since then.
