Dwayne Bravo pushed Glenn Maxwell on the back foot with a quick bouncer and followed that up with an accurate yorker. © BCCI
Dwayne Bravo, who picked up 4 for 22 to help set up Gujarat Lions’ five-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab on Monday, was pleased with how his bowling plans worked, particularly against Glenn Maxwell and David Miller. Bravo’s dismissals of Maxwell and Kings XI captain Miller, in the space of three balls in the 12th over, helped keep the opposition to 161, from a position of 98 for 2 in 11 overs.
“They [Maxwell and Miller] are two dangerous players and any team would love to see the back of them early. Miller started very well and we all know how dangerous Maxwell can be, so I tried to upset him [Maxwell] a little bit – bowl a few short balls to try and keep him on the back foot,” Bravo told iplt20.com. “I executed one of my better yorkers today and Miller’s [wicket came off] a very good slower ball. It was these two deliveries that worked today and changed the game in our favour, and I am very happy that I am able to contribute to our team’s success.”
Bravo set Maxwell up with a sharp bouncer, bowled at around 131kph, and followed it up with a quick yorker that crashed into the middle and leg stumps to dismiss the batsman for 2. Two balls later, Miller, who had already struck a four and a six to get to 15, played all around a dipping slower yorker to give Bravo his 300th T20 wicket. He is the first bowler to reach the landmark in the format.
The allrounder picked up two more wickets in the last over but was denied a five-for after Sarabjit Ladda dropped a skier off the last ball. Led by Aaron Finch’s 74, Lions chased down 162 with more than two overs to spare.
“The wicket was a very good wicket, my [plan] was to try and get wickets, try and attack and it worked today. I bowled a few short balls, tried to push the batsman back and then execute my slower balls and variations,” Bravo said. “I think all in all it was a great bowling effort by the team to finish off with a total we were very comfortable chasing.”
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo