Exactly two years earlier, on August 27, 2016, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni lost a very close battle against one of his good friend and the Caribbean all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
It was the first T20I game of the two-match T20I series between West Indies and India at Florida. Then Indian skipper MS Dhoni decided to bowl first after winning the toss. The Caribbean team had a powerful start as the openers Johnson Charles and Evin Lewis had a 126-run opening partnership.
Charles scored 79 off 33 balls (6 fours and 7 sixes) while Lewis scored a brilliant century as he scored 100 off 49 balls (5 fours and 9 sixes). Next Caribbean batsmen played some useful cameo knocks that helped them to put a mammoth total of 245/6 at the end of 20 overs.
While Jasprit Bumrah (2/47) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/39) picked up two wickets each, Mohammed Shami (1/48) added one wicket with his name.
In reply, Indian opener Ajinkya Rahane (7) and no.3 batsman Virat Kohli (16) were dismissed cheaply but another opener Rohit Sharma shaped the innings with a brilliant 89-run partnership for the third wicket.
Sharma completed his half-century in just 22 balls and was dismissed after scoring 62 off 28 balls (4 fours and 4 sixes). Since then, Rahul carried that innings till the end with the skipper MS Dhoni.
Rahul and Dhoni put a 107-run partnership for the fourth wicket and Rahul scored a brilliant century of 110* off 51 balls with 12 fours and 5 sixes but India just failed to win the game.
In the last over, India needed 8 runs and the set batsmen Rahul & Dhoni were on the crease. The Caribbean medium pacer and death-over specialist Dwayne Bravo got the responsibility in the final over. Bravo bowled brilliantly in that over as he conceded no boundary and secured a one-run victory at the end.
While Bravo and Dhoni are long-time met in the IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Bravo won that Florida T20I battle in the last ball as he dismissed one of the best finishers in the cricket world while Indian needed just two runs to win the game. Dhoni was caught out at the end on 43 off 25 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. India finished the game on 244/4 at the end of 20 overs.
Bravo (2/37) took two wickets while Andre Russell (1/53) and Kieron Pollard (1/30) were the other Caribbean bowlers to pick up one wicket each in that innings.
