Bravo brothers steal the show as Red Steel marches into second semi-final
The Bravo brothers, Dwayne and Darren, were the undoubted heroes as Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel clinched their spot in the second semi-final of the Carribean Premier League (CPL). Darren scored a quick-fire 86 while Dwayne picked up five wickets as they defeated Jamaica Tallawahs by 27 runs in the first eliminator to set up a clash with Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Darren Bravo’s knock came off just 63 balls and helped his team recover from a disastrous start. The Red Steel’s decision to bat first had backfired as Jacques Kallis, Cameron Delport, and Kamran Akmal fell cheaply leaving them struggling at 18/3 after four overs.
Darren found support in Jason Mohammed as the duo looked upon resurrecting the innings. Their partnership yielded 80 runs of just 10 overs, but it was after Mohammed’s dismissal that Darren stepped up the gear. His knock of 86 consisted of four boundaries and six hits over the fence as Red Steel were able to post a decent total of 152, in spite of no other batsman reaching double figures except the two.
Tallawahs looked to be in the driving seat for much of the game with Chris Gayle starting off with a typical cameo of 30 of 21 balls. Mahela Jayawardene was quiet at the other end as their opening partnership yielded 38 runs in four overs before the West Indian was dismissed by Johan Botha. Chadwick Walton and Jermaine Blackwood carried the innings forward but were guilty of not converting their starts into a big knock.
Once Dwayne started to weave his magic with the ball, there was no way back for them. He started off with the wicket of Blackwood and then accounted for the danger man Andre Russell. However, he created the biggest damage in the 18th over of the innings. Bowling his final over, Dwayne picked up three wickets to squash any hopes of a victory for the opposition.
Tallawahs lost their final eight wickets for only 28 runs as they slumped from 97/2 to 125 all out. Dwayne Bravo was awarded the Man of the Match for his outstanding figures and will be hoping to lead from the front again as they try to claim a place against Barbados Tridents in the final of the CPL.