The West Indies star lit up the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with a tremendous bowling display, picking up three wickets for just 24 runs in his quota of 4 overs. The figures of Bravo were truly exceptional because Sharjah is regarded as a batting paradise due to its short boundaries, where even a miss-hit travels into the stands.
Put in to bat first, RCB went off to a flying start after skipper Virat Kohli and young star Devdutt Padikkal formed a brilliant century stand for the opening wicket. However, Bravo completely changed the course of the game when he dismissed RCB captain for 53. Kohli’s dismissal triggered a big collapse as the Challengers were eventually restricted to 156/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, CSK chased down the target in 18.1 overs with six wickets in hand. After the game, the Super Kings skipper Dhoni spoke about Bravo’s improved fitness and termed him his ‘brother’ while mentioning that they always fight on the bowling strategies.
“He [Bravo] has turned up fit, that is a very good thing. And he is executing very well. I call him my brother. We always have the fight every year as to whether he needs to bowl so many slower balls or not,” said Dhoni at the post-match presentation.
“I said, ‘you do it to bluff the batsmen, but now everyone knows Bravo is known for the slower deliveries. So why not bowl 6 different deliveries, whether it’s yorker or length. Let them be surprised by saying, ‘Oh, he didn’t bowl the slower one’. That’s what it’s all about bluffing. ‘You want to confuse the batsman’. That’s another way,” he added.
MSD further praised Bravo for his team man spirit and said the Caribbean all-rounder has always taken the responsibility and done well for CSK.
“He is an ace when it comes to this format. He has played all over the world, in different conditions, whenever the team needs him, he has taken up responsibility and done well for us,” Dhoni added further.
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