Two in two: Bravo credits his preparation for success

MI Emirates came up with yet another clinical performance to beat Sharjah Warriors by six wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here, and register their second consecutive win of the ILT20 on Tuesday.

MI Emirates skipper Kieron Pollard had indicated that his team will aim for consistency during the tournament, and his team continued from where they left off, from their opening game.

“Good feeling to get points on the board. Winning is a habit and so is losing. In a new franchise, it’s sometimes hard to get together as to what sort of cricket you want to play but it has been good for us in the last couple of games. We don’t want to chop and change too much, but having said that we don’t want to lose consistency,” Pollard said after the match.

On a tricky Sharjah wicket, where the ball kept low on multiple occasions, MI Emirates got off to a brisk 36-run start in their hunt for 147, with opener Will Smeed setting the tone with a blistering 29 off 17, (Fours – 6)  before his partner Muhammed Waseem, 40 off 36, (Fours – 4, Sixes – 1) shouldered the responsibility.

Fresh from a half century in MIE’s season, the 28-year-old Waseem came up with another promising innings, and renewed his partnership with West Indian stumper Nicholas Pooran (39* off 21 balls) with a 37-run third wicket stand to guide the MI Emirates past the three-figure mark. 

The duo kept the scorers busy with frequent singles, before Waseem decided to break the shackles by dispatching left-arm pacer Paul Walter for a six and a four off successive balls. 

Pooran complimented his partner with another boundary to get 15 runs from the over, before Afghan tweaker Mohammed Nabi broke the stand with the scalp of Waseem.

With MI Emirates needing another 45 runs, skipper Kieron Pollard walked into the middle, and displayed why he’s rated as one of the most fearsome T20 batters in world cricket. The burly Trinidadian deposited a couple of balls on top of the roof. Pollard’s brief but effective cameo of 19 came from 14 deliveries, after being bowled by young Junaid Siddique and sharing a friendly moment with the bowler before walking off.  

In the end, Pooran completed the formalities with his third six of the match as the MI Emirates convincingly raced to the total with 17 balls to spare.

Earlier, Sharjah Warriors rode on a valuable 41-ball 55 from opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore to put on 146/7 after being asked to bat. Tom did manage to hold one end for a while before the MI Emirates bowling attack with the experience of Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir and Trent Boult did the trick for the Pollard-led side. 

The 39-year-old Bravo dazzled with the ball, picking three wickets and more importantly breaking the flourishing 56-run second wicket stand between Tom and Dawid Malan, to trigger a collapse that saw the Warriors lose five wickets in a span of 30 deliveries. 

“Feeling good to be honest, didn’t play for some time. I have a very good medical staff, and as the tournament progress, I hope to get better. For me preparation is the key, and I prepare well the day before and stick to the plans,” said Bravo after being adjudged the player of the match.

MI Emirates’ South African import Tahir joined the party with two crucial wickets, including the Warriors’ top scorer to keep the opposition in check, and later pick the ‘White Belt’ meant for the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, so far.