As Mushtaq Ali trophy marked the return of domestic cricket in India after an enforced break due to the novel coronavirus, veteran batsman Suresh Raina too made his comeback to cricket after 609 long days.
Raina, who retired from international cricket in August 2020, starred in Uttar Pradesh's Elite A opening clash against Punjab on Day 1 of the Mushtaq Ali tournament.
The 34-year-old smashed an unbeaten 50-ball 56 but failed to register a win as the side's batting order collapsed rather quickly in the chase of 135 runs set by Punjab, courtesy Prabhsimran Singh and Anomlpreet Singh with scores of 43 and 35, respectively.
Uttar Pradesh lost the match by 11 runs.
Netizens were delighted with Raina's return. Here's how they reacted on Twitter.
Raina, who called time on his international cricket career back in August, was expected to play in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League which took place between September-November in the United Arab Emirates.
However, Raina withdrew himself from the tournament stating personal reasons.
In the upcoming edition of the IPL, Raina is expected to return with Chennai Super Kings. Fans, especially Chennai's whistle army, are eager to see the duo of MS Dhoni and Raina rocking the show in the IPL.
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