The win against Australia was special for us, says Bravo

The reaction from Dwayne Bravo, who flung the bat high in the air before running towards his team-mates to join in the celebrations, summed it up all.

Much of the credit for West Indies’ last-over victory over Australia on Friday went to skipper Darren Sammy, who scored all the 31 runs required off the final two overs, but Bravo played an equally crucial role by striking a 12-ball 27.

The all-rounder recalled the charged-up match, the emotions and relations between players' from rival teams after a practice session on Sunday Afternoon. Excerpts.

How long did the party last after the win?

The party didn’t last long. We did some stuff in the dressing room. It was an exciting game for us. We were pumped up for all the games, but that game was more special for us. We enjoyed the victory and celebrated in the dressing room. We came back to the hotel and had a look at the India-Bangladesh game in the hotel.

Have you and the Aussies come face to face after your celebrations?

We see each other in the lobby. Today morning, I was having a chat with (Brad) Haddin, (Aaron) Finch and (David) Warner about the Big Bash League. Speaking for myself, we are all good friends off the field. I play a lot with them in the Big Bash.

Will it be tough to play in the same (IPL, Big Bash) team and share a dressing room after such a heated game?

No. We are all professional cricketers. They want to win and they will do whatever it takes to try and get a win. Sometimes, we use it for motivation and some other teams retaliate. We are not a side that retaliates. We try and prepare well and be expressive on the cricket field. At the hotel, we see each other, meet each other and have a quick chat. We may not be the best of friends or go out for dinners.

We play together in the Big Bash and the IPL and some of them come and play in the Caribbean Premier League too. With all these leagues in the world, you end up developing a better relationship. Look at the India-West Indies games, the relationship is like one love and it’s like one country playing. Thanks to IPL, it allows that. It’s a good thing for international cricketers. Apart from money, it also brings you closer to another cricketer from another country and become friends.

Under-19 cricketer Tevin Robertson from T&T killed in car crash... You want to win this event for him?

Our condolences to his family. Yesterday (Saturday) as we were watching the England-South Africa game, (Sunil) Narine, (Ravi) Rampaul, Denesh Ramdin, Samuel Badree and myself (all from T&T) got the news through a text message and we were in shock. We can’t actually believe that a life has gone just like that. We are all sad that we can’t be at home for his funeral. It’s the second cricketer in two years that we lost in an accident after (former international) Runako Morton. It’s a life gone too soon. If we win this event, we will dedicate it to him.