MI New York batter Nicholas Pooran stole the show with his audacious hitting during the Major League Cricket 2023 final against Seattle Orcas on Monday, July 31 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. He won the Player of the Match award as he powered his team to a title win in the inaugural season of Major League cricket.
Winning the toss, Nicholas Pooran opted to bowl first. The MI New York restricted the Seattle Orcas to 183 runs in 20 overs. Quinton de Kock played a fine knock of 87 runs off 52 deliveries, with nine boundaries and four sixes. However, the rest of the batting unit, couldn’t capitalise on their starts. Trent Boult and Rashid Khan were the pick of the bowlers. They took three wickets each, as the Seattle Orcas lost nine wickets in the innings.
In response, MI New York suffered an early blow losing Steven Taylor in the first over, with no runs on the board. Nicholas Pooran walked out to the crease following his wicket. He slammed a couple of sixes to begin the onslaught, taking on the Seattle Orcas bowlers. The West Indies batter slammed three sixes and two boundaries in the third over off Dwaine Pretorius, taking 28 runs off the over.
Nicholas Pooran got to his fifty in the fourth over off just 16 deliveries. He continued the assault, putting up a great show for the fans. He brought up his century off just 40 deliveries. The left-handed batter stayed unbeaten, scoring 137 runs off 55 deliveries, with ten boundaries and thirteen sixes. He led the team from the front as they chased down 184 runs comfortably.
Let’s take a look at how fans reacted to Nicholas Pooran’s title-winning knock:
MI NEW-YORK WON MLC 2023…!!!
One of the great run-chases ever in a final chasing 184 runs, lead by captain Nicholas Pooran with 137* from just 55 balls.
What an incredible turn-round after finishing 4th in the table. pic.twitter.com/QbqRya7S72
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 31, 2023
ONE OF THE CRAZIEST KNOCKS IN THE HISTORY OF T20 CRICKET!
137* in just 55 balls with 10 fours and 13 sixes. Absolute carnage by captain Pooran in the MLC Final. He led from the front and took MI New York to the MLC title. Take a bow, Pooran! pic.twitter.com/hm59ILQLry
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 31, 2023
Nicholas Pooran scored 118 runs in Boundaries and Sixes in a final. That I
Is some insane hitting. He is definitely one player that could score a T20 double hundred someday. Wish we could see him wield his skills in Test Cricket too. Would make it so much more exciting. #MLC— Kshemal Waingankar (@kshemalw) July 31, 2023
Wow what a day! Inaugural MLC champions 🏆 Hearty congratulations to the entire team of @MINYCricket Rashid Khan’s magical bowling figure and Nicholas Pooran’s 💯 was icing on the cake 😍💙 #OneFamily #MajorLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/Lzvtk9gDpx
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) July 31, 2023
MI Newyork are the Champions of 2023 MLC 💙
From Finishing at No.4 in Pointstable to Winning Trophy….What a Tournament for MI boys!
Pooran Single-handedly won us the match 🙌#MLC2023 pic.twitter.com/SMZD5nNUE8
— 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) July 31, 2023
Nicholas Pooran absolute beast when gets going. Among the finest hitters.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) July 31, 2023
https://twitter.com/SharyOfficial/status/1685880453218070528?s=20
BOW DOWN TO THE SIR NICHOLAS FREAK POORAN !!! 🛐💙❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/MQmNsi67UK
— S᭙ꪖ𝘴_яíѕ (@mrchampion036z) July 31, 2023
We were prepared for this moment a week ago: Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran finished Major League Cricket as the leading run-scorer, scoring 388 runs in eight matches, at an average of 64.67. His title-winning knock left the fans in awe. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pooran shared that he is proud of the team. He also added that he backed his skills to come good in the high-pressure final. Pooran said,
“Chatting today we spoke about creating history. We lost our captain and a couple of players. At the end of the day, I am proud as everyone contributed. Knew it was a good batting wicket, we were prepared for this moment from a week ago. We had to be confident and believe in each other. We got over the line today, we were been put under pressure earlier this week.”
“You are going to bat like Nicky P, I told myself and backed my skill. I just had to execute my skills, I have been working on it since the last 5-6 years. It was really special for me. I just want to thank all the fans and supporters, they have been really amazing,” he added.
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