Darren Bravo produced a sensational exhibition of brutal hitting during his 44-ball 66, which powered Trinidad & Tobago to a challenging 160 for eight in their Champions League Twenty20 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here today.
Bravo smashed five fours and four sixes during his stay in the middle, enthralling the crowd at the Punjab Cricket Stadium by playing some dazzling shots.
Towards the end, skipper Denesh Ramdin made 21 off 15 balls, while Navin Stewart helped himself to 17 off 13. Even as Bravo went on a rampage, it was surprising to see Sunrisers captain Shikhar Dhawan not using legspinner Karn Sharma.
Invited to bat, T&T were shocked straightaway as Lendl Simmons got out to Dale Steyn while going for an expansive shot off only the first delivery of the match.
But the visitors recovered from the first-ball jitter through Evin Lewis (22) and Bravo's 49-run stand.
While Bravo was a bit watchful to start with, Lewis went for his shots and found the boundaries at will against the likes of Steyn and his pace bowling partner Ishant Sharma.
Bravo got into the act with a big six over long-on off Ishant. Lewis then struck Hanuma Vihari for two fours, before Bravo sent the strapping Ishant for two more boundaries.
Runs were flowing freely when Ishant struck, having Lewis caught behind with a short ball that moved away slightly.
The show then belonged to Bravo as he launched into an onslaught that left the Sunrisers bruised and battered.
The 24-year-old left-hander was particularly severe on Ishant, hitting the bowler for three sixes besides striking fours. Steyn was carted around for 41 runs in his four overs.
Bravo also had a six against Amit Mishra, struck high over long-on, but the pick of the lot was the maximum against Ishant, who banged in one short only to see the ball soaring over his head and into the sight screen.
After being smashed around, Ishant exacted revenge when Bravo hit a pitched-up delivery straight into the hands of Dhawan at cover. Sammy sent back Jason Mohammed as he went for a slog only to see his off-stump going for a walk.
