Disappointed for getting out at the wrong time: Pooran

The last two days of the Indian Premier League have produced nail-biting encounters. Rinku Singh hit five sixes to get Kolkata Knight Riders over the line against the Gujarat Titans, and Nicholas Pooran smashed the joint second-fastest fifty in IPL to help Lucknow win a thriller against Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

In pursuit of 213 runs, the Super Giants were in a spot of bother at 99 for four in 10.4 overs when Pooran walked in to bat at number six. The southpaw attacked the Bangalore outfit from the get-go and displayed an array of strokes all around the ground en route to his 19-ball 62 that helped the team inch closer to the target. 

However, he was dismissed on the last ball of the 17th over, with the visiting side still requiring 24 runs to gain two vital points. 

"Getting out at the wrong time is something I want to get better at. Winning games, being there till the end. Tonight Monday, I fell short and was a bit disappointed about that, but happy that we could get the W," he said in the post-match press conference. 

"I remember, when we played for Kings XI Punjab, we had some instances where we were chasing four runs in the last over, two runs in the last over, and it came down to the last ball. But tonight was amazing. The fans obviously got a wonderful game as both teams held their nerves," he added. 

The Windies batter also shared his learnings of finishing matches in the shortest format and said, "T20 is a difficult game, and experience plays a massive role. I have struggled for the last 6-7 years in finishing games and made bad decisions at the wrong time. It's just a learning curve for me and I am just happy that I can learn from it and come up with a match-winning performance."

Pooran also praised England bowler Mark Wood for his spell at the death and felt the momentum shifted in favour of the side because they could restrict them under 220. 

"It was a wonderful cricket pitch and I Mark Wood bowled an excellent last over that kept us in the game. I think, psychologically, chasing 220-odd would have put additional pressure on us. But 213, we felt like the momentum was still on our side."

"I just felt like, if the ball was in my zone, I wanted to hit a couple out of the park, and that got me going. I just felt like I had to take my chance against the leg-spinner to get my innings going. That was the risk in my innings, and everything flowed for me after that," he concluded. 

Lucknow Super Giants will return home to face the Punjab Kings in an evening encounter at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 15.