Nicholas Pooran, a wicketkeeper-batsman for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), dedicated his brilliant performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to his loved ones. On Monday, April 10, at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Pooran hit a record half-century and guided LSG to a one-wicket victory over RCB in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match. With his match-winning innings of 62 off 19 balls, he was also given the title of “Player of the Match.”
Nicholas Pooran declared following the game that he would devote his performance to his wife and new child.
He claimed that throughout the chase, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and LSG captain KL Rahul made an outstanding team. He continued by saying that Stoinis’ 65 points from 30 balls kept LSG in the contest.
“To my wife and new baby, I would like to dedicate this performance. We were aware that the match had begun since Stoinis and KL made an excellent team. I was aware that this was a good wicket because Stoinis kept us in the game. In the final four, we might even chase above 50; the key was to make a profit. I blasted a six on the second ball I entered the game. It’s not a matter of getting a look; if it falls into my slot, I’ll take it for six, Nicholas Pooran remarked at the post-match presentation.
The former West Indies white-ball skipper continued by claiming that he has recently been under a lot of pressure to finish games. The 27-year-old added that he tried to finish the match against RCB but was unsuccessful. He continued by saying that all he wanted was to have fun playing, amuse people while doing so, and win games for his team.
“I have put a lot of pressure on myself to finish games over the past few years. I tried to play the game today as well, but I eventually gave up. In a good place and frame of mind, I hope this is the season for me. I just want to have fun playing cricket, to be entertaining and help my team win games “Added he.
Pooran leads LSG to a last-ball victory over RCB by one wicket.
After being chosen to bat first, RCB put up a staggering 212 runs, with half-centuries from captain Faf du Plessis (79* off 46), Virat Kohli (61 off 44), and Glenn Maxwell (59 off 29). Amit Mishra and Mark Wood secured the wickets for LSG.
LSG’s pursuit got off to a disastrous start as they dropped to 23/3 in just four overs. Rahul (18) and Stoinis, though, put up a 76-run partnership for the fourth wicket. As Rahul and Stoinis were dismissed, Nicholas Pooran entered the game and promptly scored the quickest fifty of the season in just 15 balls. After that, he and Ayush Badoni engaged in an 84-run stand (30 off 24).
LSG needed five runs in the last over, but Harshal Patel let up a single on the first ball and a wicket on the second. A double and a single were taken on balls three and four, respectively. After Unadkat was out after the fifth ball, the situation came down to one run per ball. LSG won by a dramatic one-wicket after Harshal attempted to run out Ravi Bishnoi from the non-end striker’s but failed.
India
