I was confident to pull it off, says Bravo about the last-ball six

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Three successive victories after being inconsistent throughout reflects the real standard of Chennai Super Kings ever since their maiden triumph back in 2010.

Peaking at the right time at the stroke of the playoffs, Super Kings are growing in strength. And as past records suggest, they become as good as unbeatable on regaining their rhythm.

The most striking aspect of the side is a propensity to remain calm — like their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni —no matter how tense the situation appears.

Despite a rollicking start by Kolkata Knight Riders openers on Monday at Eden Gardens, they didn’t panic and just waited for the former to err.

That eventually happened with Brendon McCullum’s run-out as thereafter; Chennai bowlers turned it around with their tight line to restrict KKR to an achievable score. In their chase, CSK were again tied down in the middle after experienced openers Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay got them off to flier.

But just as Marchant De Lange bowled at Dhoni’s comfort zone in the penultimate over, he took full toll of the South African pacer to reduce the margin before Dwayne Bravo won the game with a last-ball six.

True, Bravo was aided to a good deal by Rajat Bhatia’s full-toss, which would have been belted by most established batsman. The all-rounder too admitted it later. “I had backed myself up for a shot and win it for my team.

But the bowler too helped after five proper deliveries,” Bravo said.

Irrespective of how badly the bowler balls, it does require nerves of steel to hit a six off the final ball if five runs or so are required from it. “We saw what happened to their innings and should’ve learned from those mistakes.

Had it not been for Bravo’s last-ball six, we would’ve lost,” confessed Dhoni.
Bravo’s achievement simply highlights that once CSK get into their groove, they cannot be written off until the last ball is bowled.

The two-time champions now would certainly like to round off the league stage on a winning note against Kings XI Punjab on Thursday.

That said; it’s a playoff berth that counts for CSK than their position at the table.
“Position is not important as long as we are assured of advancing to playoffs,” an unfazed Bravo made it clear.