Suresh Raina loves to anticipate. You can see it work for him when he is fielding in the 30-yard circle. Unlike many, he likes to anticipate the batsmen’s shots and tries his best to move into positions early. He carries that tendency to batting where it doesn’t always work out well. Especially with the bouncers. The first T20 against England in Kanpur was a mixed-bag. He moved here and there, upset the bowlers’ rhythm and just when it seemed he had things covered, the old anticipation-urge did him in. His battle with Ben Stokes in particular was action-packed affair – a six and four but in the end he fell to Stokes. Here is it how it played out. 6th over: The first signs The urge to move towards off started in this over against Liam Plunkett. He walloped Plunkett for a four and started to move right across his stumps for the follow-up delivery. It wasn’t a short one and Raina managed to tickle it to leg side for a single. Was the movement in anticipation of a bouncer? 7th over: a battle with Stokes There was a gap behind square-leg and Raina shuffled right across off the first ball he faced from Stokes. He managed to get a couple of runs. He tried to repeat it next ball but missed. He tried again next ball, missed it again but this time the ball ran away for a leg bye. 13th over: Stokes returns Raina moves outside leg, Stokes follows him with a length delivery and bang – the ball is thrown back from wide long-on boundary. He is on 34, a mini comeback of sorts is looking good, when that urge returned. Raina not only stays back inside the crease but starts to hang on his back foot as Stokes runs in. Furthermore, he begins to stutter towards the off. It isn’t a confident shuffle, more a stumble that gives the impression he was perhaps expecting a short one as retribution from the bowler for the big shot before. Instead, Stokes comes with a scorcher of a yorker. The accuracy is deadly, the choice of yorker is a surprise which is further accentuated by the leg-stump target. Raina’s slow but early stutter across the stumps did him in.
