Dwayne Bravo proved to be a massive help for the West Indies team in the second T20I match against Australia at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. The home side beat the visitors by 56 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
With Kieron Pollard unfit, Nicholas Pooran was captaining the side and Dwayne Bravo walked in to bat at 59/3 with Shimron Hetmyer for company. The duo added 103 runs for the 4th wicket with Hetmyer making 61 in 36 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes, while Bravo remained unbeaten on 47 with 3 sixes and 1 four in 34 balls.
Andre Russell slammed 24* in 8 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to take the home side to 196/4 in 20 overs.
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Talking about the game plan, Dwayne Bravo said, “It was always in the team plan if we bat first and we lose early wickets for me to go in and control the innings with the bat - it's more my style of play. Pick up the ones and twos lay that solid platform for the likes of [Andre] Russell, Fabian [Allen], Pooran, if Polly is in the squad, to do what they have to do in the back end. I must be honest, at some point, I was trying to get out at the back end to allow Russell and these guys to finish off.”
He revealed at the end of the game that his role in the team extended beyond contributions and into handholding the youngsters in the side and impart upon them, his knowledge from his vast T20 experience. He further mentioned that WI looked specifically not to fall into the dot ball problems.
"It's just about guiding the younger players: Hey, Pooran, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh...that's the kind of information we keep feeding to these younger players. We needed partnerships and the way Hetmyer batted in the first game and into this game, it's just a pleasure to see him bat.
He's a batting leader in our group, we gave him the responsibility to take control of the batting and show some maturity. We all know how classy he is and how dangerous he can be, [the advice was] just to bat deep, it's a ground that has a big wind factor advantage,” Bravo told the broadcasters.
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Shimron Hetmyer, who won the Man of the Match award, praised Bravo’s reading of the T20 game and said, “I had never batted with Bravo before ... he was just telling me to keep going and just do what you do best. I really trusted him batting and running between the wickets."
Bravo further said that he taught Fidel Edwards the slower ball using which Edwards dismissed Australia captain Aaron Finch.
"I said, you have the perfect action to bowl a different slower ball. I let him stand about five feet away from me and said Fidel, all you have to do with your action is sling the ball like this with pace but he didn't have the confidence to do it in a game. So I said to him do a few in practice. I said do it [in the game], nothing wrong with trying, so for me to see him have success I'm happy," Bravo said.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
