Stat Turd explains why you should love Raina too:

This might sound slightly gay….

Well screw it, so what if it does.  I have a man-crush. Yes. I ‘m going to go ahead and say it:

I heart Suresh Raina.

Raina hai mere dil mein

I am going to try to make a case of making you like him too.

This uber-talented cricketer has taken a while , but hopefully (fingers crossed) has found a role.We all know that he had it in him- the “it” factor, but it was there for all to see in this season’s IPL. The flowing offside cover strokes with the extravagant follow-through of the bat, the cheetah-like quick singles and twos, the exhuberant fielding and catching, and the general attitude make him one of my favourite current players.

Let’s get into some more nitty-gritties.Looking purely at the numbers reveals some interesting trends. For comparison’s sake – I’ve also taken Rohit Sharma’s (another exciting player) numbers, which I tend to think is a somewhat fair comparison.  I did so because:
1. Both played in teams which atleast reached the semis
2. Both are similar character players – batting all-rounders who bowl a bit
3. Both are under 23
4. Both are considered as possible future candidates for the soon-to-be-vacant Indian middle order
5. It’s my wish.

DA DATA

Run Lola Run!

And their bowling:

Phull toss

Now, since I am so kind let’s just have a graphical look at their performance in IPL2009.

Worm da Batting

and bowling comparison:

Worm da bowling

and finally

Fielding:
Avg Dismissals per Game
Rohit Sharma
2008 – 0.62
2009 – 0.31
Suresh Raina
2008 – 0.63
2009 – 0.50

Test Results

From this, we can see a few things:
1. I suck balls  at graphs and shit
2. Raina has the better batting average, and less deviation from the average
3. Raina has the better bowling economy , and less deviation from the average
4. Rohit’s taken more wickets than Raina

Note:
1. Both dropped on their avg dismissals/game from last year
2. My guess is that this could happen because we could have had more dismissals in the form of

batsmen getting clean bowled or caught behind because of the nature of the pitches this time. The right way would be to analyse the breakdown of dismissals (number and nature) , but neither do I have the data nor the inclination immediately at hand to do that rigourous exercise.
3. Both hardly bowled much last year
4. The averages for both dropped from last year.

Ghajini and Momentum

During the course of the IPL month, the ONE thing that all the players and commentators repeatedly kept harping on like a broken tape recorder was MOMENTUM. I can understand where they’re coming from psychologically, as well as in such a league format – it helps you rack up some points. So examining the case of momentum in retrospect:

1. Chennai Super kings best run of matches were between Matches 6-10 : 5 Wins
Raina’s performance in those matches:
Batting: 98    32    32    32    13 (41.4 per game, 10 runs above his average)
Bowling: 1W    0W    1W    0W    0W (0.4 W per game)
Avg:     5.5    7    8.6    4    7  (6.42 runs per game given)

2. Deccan super chargers best run of matches were Matches 1-4 : 4 wins on the trot
Rohit’s performance :
Batting : 36    52    3    18 (27.25 runs per game, same as average)
Bowling : DNB    DNB    0W    1W (0.5 W per game in those he bowled, otherwise 0.25W per game)
Avg:      DNB    DNB    8    6  (7 runs per game)

Thus, if “momentum” is indeed that important, then:
1. We can make the case that Raina actually contributed more to his team from his core competency (eh..excuse me for using such a business term here) of batting during his team’s run than did Rohit for the deccan team
2. Bowling for both didn’t actually have that much of an effect on their teams respective winning streak (in fact, we can even make the case that Rohit didn’t bowl much at all during the streak!)

(in)CONCLUSION

Now , add everything up and making skewed conclusions, I came up with a few pearls:
1. Both are hopefully going to carry the baton forward for the Indian middle order
2. Both are better bowlers than you actually give them credit for (atleast in the mini (50) and micro-mini (20) versions of the game
3. Raina is developing a little more consistency in his game on both fronts.
4. Rohit is more of a match-winner (hat-tricks, the more useful 30+ scores)- Deccan did end up winning it all. After their 4 Wins in a row, they won matches here and there and made it when it matters most.
5. But, if you’re looking for a run,

Raina gives the team a more consistant chance of winning.

6. I need an Excel for Dummies book.

We (or should I say BCCI) are quite fortunate to have both these players play for the Indian team.While I would love to extrapolate and synthesisze this info over their careers in the longer format of the game, it will be more fun to actually watch it play out.

These 2 guys are hopefully going to be around for a while. Enjoy the ride while it lasts. Ladies and gents , get your Raina posters and memorabilia.  And oh, please give me the pleasure of saying , “I told you so.”, when you actually fantasize and giggle about Raina in your sleep. And if you don’t believe me, here’s actual proof – some disturbing visuals of members of the current team professing their undying love for the machine.

It's a strange kinda love as Fredster looks on in jealousy

Get out of my dreams, get onto my bike.

Jiski biwi choti to uska bhi bada naam hai