Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player Suresh Raina has spoken about the team atmosphere when the franchise lost the Indian Premier League (IPL) final.
Suresh Raina spent his entire IPL career with CSK, except for the two seasons when the team was expelled from the league.
Raina played for Gujarat Lions in the 2016 and 2017 seasons and ended his IPL career with CSK in 2021.
Well, when CSK faced a heartbreaking defeat in the 2019 IPL final, losing to Mumbai Indians (MI) by just one agonizing run, the atmosphere was nothing short of intense.
Suresh Raina opens up on CSK’s painful loss to MI in IPL 2019 final
Fans might imagine a storm of anger and frustration brewing behind the scenes in the CSK camp, but the reality is much more different, according to Suresh Raina.
Suresh Raina revealed that the CSK dressing room was not full of nagging but the pain of coming so close to victory was intense.
Raina also stressed that it was Rohit Sharma’s wonderful captaincy that ensured CSK’s heartbreaking defeat against MI in the IPL 2019 final.
However, the title defeat was not just a defeat, it was a moment of absolute heartbreak. Suresh Raina said Ravindra Jadeja’s bold shot could have turned the tide and made the match a super over, but fate had other plans.
Furthermore, Raina mentioned that the team had fought together and shared every moment on and off the field, all with the collective goal of claiming the title for two long months, so to see it slip away by such a narrow margin was devastating for every member of the team.
The crushing reality of being on the losing side was not easy at all, according to the former Indian batsman.
He added that the first ten days after losing the 2019 final were tough for CSK. It was one of the memorable IPL finals where MS Dhoni and Shane Watson were eliminated.
We must also respect Rohit Sharma’s captaincy: Raina
Suresh Rain said on the Uttar Pradesh T20 League podcast: “I think we have to respect Rohit Sharma’s captaincy as well. Jaddu played a shot. If he had scored a run, it would have been a great over. That’s not true (scolding). I think he wanted to win. Ten days were very tough after losing. You worked very hard for two months as a team. We travelled together, lived together and fought for the title, so it’s tough to be on the losing side.”
Suresh Raina, on the 2019 IPL final loss, said that Rohit Sharma’s captaincy should be respected for defending such a low total. pic.twitter.com/ZzwRR9VWJK
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It is noteworthy that it was the same final in which former Australian all-rounder Watson battled pain and bleeding from his knee.
However, he was determined to lead CSK to title glory but was left out by Krunal Pandya and his dream was dashed. Watson top-scored for CSK with 80 runs off 59 balls.
Former captain Dhoni was later dismissed by MI wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan and then Jadeja’s failure to play a single important shot ensured that MI took the title, winning the final by just one run at the packed Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on May 12, 2019.
