At the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024 encounter between the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and the Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan-owned Trinibago Knight Riders (TKR), Nicholas Pooran struck a match-winning 93 not out off only 43 balls, setting up a seven-wicket victory.
Pooran, a batsman for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), helped TKR chase down a big 194-run goal with nine balls remaining. His innings were replete with seven enormous sixes and six fours.
A match winning knock from Nicholas Pooran sees him pick up the @Dream11 MVP for match 25. #CPL24 #TKRvSKNP #CricketPlayedLouder #BiggestPartyInSport #Dream11 pic.twitter.com/4kGXROlIqV
— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 23, 2024
In addition to scoring 93, Pooran became the fourth hitter from the West Indies to reach 8,000 runs in 336 innings of T20 cricket. With 14,562 T20 runs, “Universe Boss” Chris Gayle leads the field. TKR captain and Mumbai Indians (MI) coach Kieron Pollard is next with 13,267 runs, while Andre Russell is third with 8,772 runs.
The Patriots won the first game of the campaign and have subsequently lost all of their games; nevertheless, their loss in Tarouba appeared especially harsh since they scored a massive 193/4 with the bat after being inserted at the toss.
With an outstanding innings of 93 from 61 balls, which included six sixes into the stands and strokes all over the field, captain Andre Fletcher took the lead from the off. Fletcher was caught by Kieron Pollard’s bucket hands on the far-off boundary by Chris Jordan, depriving him of a well-earned century by seven runs.
Jordan was the best bowler for the Knight Riders and showed off his own velcro hands with an amazing diving catch off a short ball that Kyle Mayers misplayed, giving away a quick return opportunity.
After Jason Roy amassed 64 runs from 34 deliveries at the top of the order, Nicholas Pooran completed the task with flair, hitting his seventh six of the game, a flat six down the ground, to put the Knight Riders ahead.
Despite being helped by some careless catches that resulted in his being out of the game a few times in the field, Pooran was named Player of the Match after smashing thirteen boundaries to end unbeaten on 93, not out off only 43 deliveries.
“First and foremost, it’s a very good feeling to win and play here; the audience was amazing today. All we needed to do was cross the line. When was the last time I had that many opportunities in a game? As a batsman, my goal is to stay there until the very end, so I’m incredibly happy that I was able to do that. I have been receiving starts all throughout this tournament. During the post-match presentation, Pooran said, “I really didn’t contribute too much for the team aside from the first game.”
The Patriots will be disappointed by the interceptions and the lost chance to defeat one of the favorites and cap off a challenging season. After bringing down the sizable target with nine balls left, the Knight Riders will see an increase in their net run rate. They are now tied for 10 points with the Barbados Royals and the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
