Follow UsNicholas Pooran dished out a six-hitting spectacle at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, scoring 70 off just 26 in a successful 191-run chase against the home side Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Playing the second game of the season, Pooran came out to bat in the second over after Mohammad Shami dismissed Aiden Markram. In the next over, he got going with a four and two huge sixes against Simarjeet Singh, flexing his bat and hand speed against the pacer from Punjab.
He got to face Abhishek Sharma’s left-arm spin in the fifth over itself and smashed him for two more sixes. Sharma looked to first turn and then dart the ball into the left-hander, but Pooran still managed to hit both deliveries for a maximum. This was the seventh six out of the nine deliveries Pooran had faced from Sharma.
He clubbed two more fours in the last over of the powerplay bowled by Pat Cummins and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) managed to be well ahead of the chase by being at 77/1 at the end of the powerplay.
If SRH thought Pooran would slow down after the powerplay, they were really wrong as the West Indian took Adam Zampa’s to the cleaners and slammed 19 runs in the 7th over, hitting two sixes and a four. He brought up his half-century in just 18 deliveries, which was his third-fastest IPL half-century.
Pooran’s hitting was extremely pristine throughout the innings, and especially against the spinners, he didn’t allow either of the two to settle. He also benefitted from the matchup being in his favour. On the other end, Mitch Marsh was batting in spectacular fashion too and before Pooran got out in the 9th over, they had had a 116-run partnership in just 43 deliveries.
That killed the chase then and there, as LSG needed only 71 runs in 68 deliveries after Pooran’s dismissal and completed the chase in just 16.1 overs.
Such has been Pooran’s six hitting, that he has the most sixes in the IPL since 2023. He gave SRH a taste of their own medicine and won his team their first game of the 2025 season.