Duleep Trophy 2017: Suresh Raina Fails To Impress For India Blue

After scoring an impressive 52 in the first game against India Red, India Blue skipper and out-of favour India batsman Suresh Raina failed to do well in the ongoing Duleep Trophy clash against India Green. The left-handed batsman, who has not played in One-Day Internationals since October 2015, is running out of time to press a claim for his return to the national team.

He was recalled for the ODI series against New Zealand last year but did not play a single game due to illness. However, a recall for the T20 series against England earlier this year gave him a glimmer of hope and he fully capitalized on it by finishing the three-match series as its third highest run-scorer with 104 runs. A few months later, he proved his worth with yet another impressive IPL season, scoring 442 runs in 14 matches which led to his inclusion in the standby list for the Champions Trophy.

However, he was ignored for the Sri Lanka series and is not a part of the team for the ongoing series against Australia either. And with time running out, every match is important for him but so far he has not been able to make the most of opportunities in the Duleep Trophy.  With Team India backing the youngsters in the middle-order, Raina needs to score big to make an impression but he has failed to do it so far. He managed to score a half-century in his team’s first game but was out for 40 on the first day of the ongoing match against India Green.

In fact, barring Manoj Tiwary, who scored 78, none of the India Blue batsman managed to make a substantial contribution as the Raina-led side was dismissed for a paltry 177. Off-spinner Parvez Rasool was the standout bowler for India Green, taking 5 for 70. Meanwhile, India Green finished the day on 100 for 3 with.