Major League Cricket 2023
‘Laut aao Bravo’ – Fans react as Dwayne Bravo hits 76* against Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket 2023
Washington Freedom locked horns with Texas Super Kings (TSK) in the fifth match of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 on Monday, July 17 at the Grand Prairie Stadium, in Dallas. Washington Freedom defeated the Super Kings’ side despite Dwayne Bravo’s explosive batting where he scored unbeaten 76 runs off 39 balls which included five fours and six sixes in his innings.
The former West Indies all-rounder brought back nostalgic memories as he slammed massive 106 meters six in pacer Anrich Nortje’s over. His knock included amazing ball striking that set the clock back. The 39-year-old was the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) until Yuzvendra Chahal surpassed him in IPL 2023.
Unfortunately for TSK, Bravo’s explosive performance wasn’t enough as the team failed to complete the target by six runs. The result came after an incredible 69-run victory over the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) in the season opener. Bravo was the coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2023 and led the team to its fifth IPL championship after retiring from the league in 2022. The all-arounder is the leading wicket-taker in the history of T20I cricket.
It was one of those wickets where it wasn’t easy to bat on: Faf Du Plessis
With a brilliant cameo of 16* from 5 deliveries and the crucial wicket of fellow West Indian Andre Russell during his bowling spell, Bravo had an outstanding performance in the opening game. Prior to the all-rounder’s heroics, which included almost pulling off the game, TSK had fallen to 50/5 in their run chase of 164.
TSK skipper, Faf Du Plessis stated that the side lost too many wickets in the powerplay. Despite the loss, the former South Africa batter was impressed with Bravo’s innings.
“It was one of those wickets where it wasn’t easy to bat on. Matthew Short was one guy who made it look easy. It was brilliant to see DJ Bravo bringing out the calypso flavour and playing that way. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay, when you are chasing such a target you need to get off to a good start,” Du Plessis was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Imagine if he did not start slow, they could have won the match… 😅
— 🇮🇳 🚴🏼♂️✈️ (@__gurudas) July 17, 2023
Credit goes to thella
— @8dv!ll!er$ (@Puniths1817) July 17, 2023
Note he hits 106m longest sixer of the MLC tournament champion Bravo 🥵💛
— DEXTER😈 (@Dexter_Vj2) July 17, 2023
Laut aao brovo😭
— Mahii ❤️ (@surajbh52542127) July 17, 2023
following MSD?
— haha (@OGlaugh) July 17, 2023
Good innings but as Simon doull once said balls wasted at the beginning cannot be made up
— Jayanth (@Jay2218_) July 17, 2023
That was a breathtaking innings, good for the league. Hope to see cricket as major sport in US soon
— Shreya (@Notti_kudi) July 17, 2023
What a performance by Dwayne Bravo – At one point he is batting on 10*(18) and then he scored 66*(21) with the strike rate of 314.3 while chasing 164 runs but unfortunately lost by 6 runs in MLC.
He scored 76*(39) & with the ball 28/1 in 4 overs – Absolute Legend of the game! pic.twitter.com/0dTVROuSVX
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) July 17, 2023