West Indies batting mainstay Darren Bravo has revealed that his match-winning knock against South Africa in the ongoing one-day international triangular series was inspired by Caribbean legend and his first cousin Brian Lara.
Bravo produced one of his best ODI performances till date, scoring a run-a-ball 102 that helped the West Indies progress into the tri-series final where the hosts will play against Australia on Sunday.
"I haven't spoken to him for some time now, but last night before I went to bed I looked at some of his clips on YouTube," Bravo was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "That's my boy, that's my role model, so when I'm struggling I always go back to him."
Put in to bat first, West Indies endured a stuttering start and were reeling at 21-4 after paceman Kagiso Rabada' sensational opening four-over spell in which he took three wickets. However, the left-hander then collaborated with Kieron Pollard (62) to steady the ship.
The duo shared a massive 156-run partnership for the fifth wicket as West Indies went on to post a competitive 286-run target before bowling the Proteas out for just 185.
"If I'm not speaking to him, I'll always go back and look at him on YouTube and get that sort of inspiration to keep believing in myself," said the 27-year-old, whose flamboyant style of batting has often been compared to Lara. "Today was a very good day for me and hopefully I can continue on Sunday."
Bravo also heaped praise on teammate Pollard, who was included in the ODI series following an 18-month absence, saying that his experience gained from playing domestic T20 cricket around the world has been vital in this series.