Bravo ecstatic with TKR road record

TRINBAGO Knight Riders captain Dwayne Bravo believes his team’s depth is making the difference in the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), saying his players match-up well against the other teams in the competition.

TKR won their third consecutive match on the road with a four-wicket result over the Barbados Tridents at Kensington Oval in Barbados, on Sunday. Tridents posted a modest 128 for eight, before TKR got to 130/6 in 16.3 overs with New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum blazing 66 to help them get over the line. On some nights, it has been Colin Munro or Darren Bravo getting the job done with the bat at the top of the order. With the ball, Bravo (seven wickets) has had help from pacer Ali Khan (nine wickets) and spinner Fawad Ahmed (seven wickets), with other bowlers chipping in.

Defending champions TKR now lead the standings with eight points after winning four matches and losing two. TKR are ahead of Jamaica Tallawahs on net run rate.

Bravo said he could not have asked his team for a better response after starting the tournament slowly at home.

“It is always good to win cricket games. We left Trinidad one and two (one win, two losses) and we made a promise to ourselves – ‘let’s forget what happened at home and play each game on its merit.’ We don’t study whether we playing on the road or we playing at home, we just look to play the best cricket as possible,” Bravo said.

The TKR captain said his team’s quality and the performance of the experienced players are proving crucial to their success.

“When you look throughout the tournament, if you match our team compared to other teams, I think player for player we have more depth, so I think that is what is making the difference. We also have our experienced and senior players taking the full responsibility, whether it is taking the wickets or making the runs, and it helps...I can’t ask for a better road trip performance and the more points we collect the better for us.”

The TKR spinners led from the front on Sunday, with leggie Fawad Ahmed taking two wickets for 13 in four overs, and left-arm orthodox Khary Pierre snatching 2/29 in four overs. Off-spinner Sunil Narine was not among the wickets but was economical, conceding 27 runs in four overs.

Bravo said he is privileged to have a good combination of spin bowlers at his disposal.

With TKR close to prime form with the playoffs looming, Bravo is not looking far ahead.

“We still have some way before we get into the playoffs. Like I said, we take each game at a time; every team is strong and have good individual players. Next up is St Kitts which is not going to be an easy game again. We are just taking each game at a time and once we play well to our true potential we should win.”

TKR will next play St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park in St Kitts on Saturday.