Follow UsConsistency is not what one generally associates with Nicholas Pooran but at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday, the left-hander made it three match-winning knocks in three games as he smashed a game-defining 67 that helped West Indies go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
After backing up his century in the Major League Cricket (MLC) final with a valuable 41 in the first T20I in Tarouba, Pooran, on Sunday, posted his highest T20I score in 16 innings. Oozing confidence, the left-hander took the attack to the Indian bowlers and launched an assault that ultimately proved to be a knockout punch.
Consistency from the bat of Pooran in the shortest format has been a rarity, especially in West Indian colours, but the 27-year-old is keen to deliver regularly for his side, game in and game out.
“Satisfied that I performed. The beauty of the game is it is never over till it's over. Being consistent is something I am wanting to do. I won't say it is a purple patch,” Pooran, named Player of the Match for his efforts, said.
“I have been working hard in the last couple of years, but we have been losing. Now I look at the game differently and want to continue to entertain.”
The 67 runs Pooran scored came off just 40 balls, but what compounded the impact of the knock was that it served as a serious counter-punch that took India aback. Having dismissed both Windies openers inside the first four balls of the chase, the Men in Blue were flying high but Pooran stuck to his guns from ball one. To the extent that, despite being 2/2 after 0.4 overs, Windies ended the powerplay 61/3, going at over 10 runs per over.
The southpaw revealed that he did not, at any point, look at the scorecard, and merely tried to react to the balls that came his way.
“The score didn't matter to me as long as I was batting. It was about being smart and controlling the game,” Pooran said.
“I felt like it was a decent wicket and we are accustomed to get such wickets here. The bowlers are going to give you half-volleys, full tosses."
Windies skipper Rovman Powell, meanwhile, was pleased with his side’s efforts and hoped for the team to extend the winning run. Sunday was the first time in seven years that West Indies had won consecutive games against India in the shortest format.
"It's a very good position to be in. Hopefully we can keep winning,” Powell said.
A feature of Powell’s captaincy on Sunday was how he constantly kept rotating his bowlers, frequently taking them off after just one over. It was not until the 10th over that a Windies bowler bowled consecutive overs, and, in fact, Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein were the only two bowlers who bowled a 2-over spell in the game.
Powell revealed that he kept chopping and changing to both give the pacers rest, and to keep the Indian batters guessing.
“I realised that whenever batters go at the bowlers, they don't go at the first over. So i tried to eliminate that and gave my bowlers one-over spells, especially fast bowlers because it is very hot,” Powell said.
On Tuesday (August 8th), Powell will aim to become the first Windies captain since Carlos Brathwaite to lead West Indies to a bilateral T20I series win against India.