Nicholas Pooran’s Explosive Century Propels MI New York to Major League Cricket Glory!

Nicholas Pooran

On Sunday, Nicholas Pooran produced an outstanding performance with the bat to help MI New York win the inaugural Major League Cricket championship. At Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, MI New York defeated Seattle Orcas by seven wickets thanks to the wicketkeeper-batter’s 137 runs off 55 balls. Seattle Orcas were held to 183/9 by MI New York, who then chased down their goal in just 16 overs.

 

Steven Taylor was dismissed by Imad Wasim in their third delivery of the first over, giving MI New York a poor start. But when Pooran hit two consecutive sixes off Wasim’s bowling in the same over, it was evident what he had in mind for the evening. In the third over, the West Indian batsman hammered Dwaine Pretorius for three sixes and two boundaries, showcasing his excellent form.

Nicholas Pooran

Shayan Jahangir was the first batter Wayne Parnell struck out in the fifth inning, but Pooran kept hitting home runs on the other end. In just six overs, he hit three sixes off Andrew Tye’s bowling to push MI New York’s total to 80/2. Throughout his innings, Pooran consistently hit the centre of the bat, smashing a total of 10 fours and 13 sixes. The captain led MI New York to victory with 4 overs remaining while maintaining his unblemished record at 137 runs off 55 balls.

 

MI New York elected to bat first with Seattle Orcas after winning the toss earlier in the day. Quinton de Kock seemed to be hitting the ground running as he smashed two straight boundaries off Jessy Singh in the second over. Nauman Anwar, De Kock’s opening partner, was dismissed by Rashid Khan in the fifth over for 9 runs off 13 balls. After that, Shehan Jayasuriya provided De Kock with outstanding support by hitting David Wiese for four and six runs in the seventh over. However, in the tenth over, Steven Taylor dismissed him for 16 runs off 15 deliveries.

Nicholas Pooran

When Heinrich Klaasen departed the game early, De Kock and Shubham Ranjane put up an outstanding partnership of 51 runs from 24 balls, pushing Orcas’ score to 142/4 in 16.1 overs. After that, the Orcas continued to lose wickets often, until Dwaine Pretorius’ cameo of 21 runs in 7 balls enabled his team to reach a sizable total.

 

Nicholas Pooran, who led the league in scoring and was named MLC Season 1 MVP, reacted to his team’s victory by saying, “We spoke today about having an opportunity to do something different. I am extremely proud of everything each person accomplished and the contribution they all made. I was instructed by others in the dressing room to simply bat like Nicky P and not to consider batting like the captain. I simply backed my abilities. Both the chance and the venue were available today.

Nicholas Pooran

Seattle Orcas captain Wayne Parnell continued, saying, “Anytime someone performs like that, you have to give them credit. Nicky and his team deserve praise Pooran didn’t appear to be missing any balls today. Although we put up a good total, we must give them credit today. The MLC’s first season has been a huge success. Many thanks to everybody who contributed to the planning. For choosing this team and allowing us the flexibility to play this kind of cricket, we should be grateful to our owners and management.

 

In brief : MI New York defeated Seattle Orcas 183/9 (Quinton de Kock 87, Shubham Ranjane 29, Rashid Khan 3/9) by 7 wickets (Nicholas Pooran 137*, Dewald Brevis 20, Imad Wasim 1/14).

Tournament Awards: