Chennai Super Kings’ Dwayne Bravo terms IPL 2018 knock vs Mumbai Indians as ‘best ever’

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Dwayne Bravo termed his whirlwind knock of 68 (30 balls) against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) as his ‘best ever’. (MI vs CSK Highlights)

Bravo hammered seven sixes and three fours to score 68 in CSK’s stunning chase of 165 in the opening match of the season at the Wankhede Stadium, helping the MS Dhoni-led side to a successful comeback after a two-year suspension.

“Best ever. I don’t think I have ever played an innings like this in any format. So this is a special one. As you can see, when I reached fifty, I didn’t even raise my bat. I knew the job wasn’t finished, there was still a long way to go. I was in a zone. I was just focussing on trying to get the game done for my team,” Bravo said after he was adjudged the Man of the Match.

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“I was disappointed that I was out in the last over. But I played the innings that put my team in a position to win, and that is what happened tonight. I am just happy that I was able to contribute with the bat. It has been a while that I haven’t been able to make runs with the bat. This one will always be special to me,” he added.

The Caribbean veteran said that he enjoys competing with both bat and ball, after producing an all-round show for his team.

Bravo, who was smacked for 14 runs in his first over, gave away only 11 runs in his next three overs that were bowled at the death.

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“I mark myself against the best in the world so in moments like this is where it really matters and I don’t enjoy bowling when there’s not much pressure on. When there’s pressure I need to focus a lot more and in the nets I prepare very well when I bowl to guys like MS (Dhoni) and Suresh (Raina) and these guys, who are good hitters,” Bravo revealed.

“Even when I’m playing for the West Indies, I bowl to (Andre) Russell and (Kieron) Pollard and those guys so it gave me confidence. I don’t just turn up in a game and it happens naturally. I prepare in the nets, I make sure I’m executing my yorkers properly so whenever I call on those special deliveries, I deliver more often. Tonight was a little tougher because I bowled the last three overs and the skipper asked me if I’m able to do it and of course I said ‘yes’ and again bowling to these guys is a big challenge,” Bravo added.

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The only player to have taken more than 400 wickets in T20 cricket, the 34-year-old cricketer said he needs to be careful with his body now.

“Well, it’s on my mind in terms of I had to be more careful and I’m no longer 24 like how I used to be before, so I have to be very cautious, and as I said I started very slow and just needed to get momentum going into the game. But as you can see, as the game picked up especially in the later stages, this is where I’m more specialised and this is where the team needs me the most — at the close of the game,” he said.