I can be very destructive in the end overs: Darren Bravo

Darren Bravo has experienced great highs and horrible lows playing in India. On his first visit, he was the one batsman to stand tall during West Indies’ tour in 2011/12, when he amassed 404 runs from three matches at an average of 67.33 It was a performance that made the cricketing world sit back and take notice. A brilliant 136 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and an imperious 166 at Wankhede in Mumbai made his idol, and cousin, - Brian Lara - believe that Bravo was destined for greatness. His second tour was rather different. With the West Indies shoe-horned into a two-Test farewell for Sachin Tendulkar in 2012, Bravo could only manage just 100 runs from four innings at an average of 25. [caption id=“attachment_1743683” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Darren Bravo had a good ODI series against Bangladesh. AFP[/caption] Now on his third tour, the 25-year-old Bravo is quietly confident that he can deliver the goods for a West Indies team whose batting is still overly reliant on the 40-year-old Shivnarine Chanderpaul. “It’s very important that I look at the clips of [India’s] bowlers and try and understand the way they go about things and have a very clear idea what exactly it is that I want to do when I step on the field,” Bravo said in an open media session at the Cricket Club of India prior to the start of the ODI series. “I have done well in the last couple of series that we have played in India. But I am not taking anything for granted. Spin is going to be a big factor going into the series. But at the same time it all boils down to playing your natural game and give yourself the best opportunity get in and hopefully when you get a start you capitalise and try and perform to the best of your ability for the team.” One of the major criticisms of Bravo has been that he often fails to convert his starts into big scores. In his last five Test innings Bravo has made 40, 24, 62, 7, 46. It is a critcism that hits home. “Converting starts has been bothering me for some time,” Bravo said. “Obviously in ODIs you tend to take a little more chances than in Test version and that’s something I need to obviously improve on. It’s difficult to get a start and give it away so that’s something I need to get right and get it right as quickly as possible. “At times you tend to bat in a position where your team is under pressure and by doing that you tend to soak up a lot of balls. Rotation of strike will be very important in India. By doing that, obviously you get nice momentum and nice flow to the innings. I believe I am quite capable of capitalizing coming down to the end. I am not too worried If I soak up a few balls early in my innings. I just want to give myself the best opportunity to launch in the end. I am not too worried of facing a maiden but it is always important to rotate the strike. But as long as I get in at the other end, I can be very destructive.” In 2012, it was R Ashwin who tormented Bravo, dismissing him three times over the two Tests. In total, Bravo has fallen to Ashwin, five times in Tests and three times in ODIs. No other bowler has dismissed him so often in either format. “I know exactly where I went wrong. Obviously he [Ashwin] is a very good bowler but at the same time, I just need to continue backing myself. I have done well against him in the previous games as well. So I am not really worried about it, at the end of the day it is bat vs ball, so it’s important I get it right in the series.” In his short career, Bravo has already played a crucial role in West Indies’ batting. Since making his Test debut in 2010, he’s been their second highest run-getter with 2311 runs from 37 innings at 43.60. In one-dayers, he has been their highest run-getter since his debut in 2009 with 2037 runs from 73 innings at 32.45. He has the second-highest average (50.40) behind Shivnarine Chanderpaul (52) in Tests against India in India. In ODIs, he has the highest average - 56.20. West Indies haven’t won a Test series in India since 1983. They haven’t won a bilateral ODI series in India since 2002. If they want to break either of those streaks, it is clear they need Bravo to be at his best.