West Indies ride Nicholas Pooran masterclass to beat India in nervy encounter for 2-0 lead in T20I series | Cricket News

A plucky unbeaten eighth-wicket stand of 26 runs between Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein staved off the embarrassment of a mindless collapse, in true West Indies fashion. It was a game West Indies lost, won, lost and won again, enduring late, heart-stopping drama, to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.When the hosts lost two wickets in the first four balls of the innings, a shambolic defeat looked imminent. But Nicholas Pooran produced 67 runs off 40 balls to revive their hopes. His departure though precipitated a collapse, as only West Indies could conjure these days, and his side teetered to the edge of another defeat. But Hosein and Joseph displayed composure that the lower-middle order lacked to guide them home.With 12 runs in as many deliveries required, Joseph hammered Mukesh Kumar’s second ball of the penultimate over for a six to reverse the ride, before Hosein thumped Kumar’s fifth ball through mid-off to wrap up the sweaty win with seven balls to spare.

Some late fight from the Indian bowlers. But Windies held their nerves to make it 2-0!#INDvWIAdFreeonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/pq4N6A35Rp
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But Pooran was the architect. His dazzling talent has shone only sporadically. His seven years in international cricket have swung between the sublime and the ordinary — dizzying heights would often be followed frightening lows. When his stars align, he is a throwback Caribbean batsman, all flourish and flamboyance, enough for franchises worldwide to cough up astronomical sums to acquire his signature. More often than not, they have ended up frustrated —in 2021, he averaged just seven. But then he excites them again, with knocks like the one in Guyana.
Their start was horrific. Chasing 153 on a sluggish surface, they lost two wickets in four balls in Hardik Pandya’s first over. A familiar implosion seemed lurking. But Pooran seized the moment. He counterpunched on a ground he averages hundred-plus in this format, and against an opposition he relishes. Five of his 10 fifty-plus scores in T20Is have arrived against India — it’s a reason perhaps he is always a hot property in IPL auctions.

Pandya Power 💪#INDvWIAdFreeonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/UtS1p5qcpq
— FanCode (@FanCode) August 6, 2023
Just the third ball he faced, Pooran was adjudged leg before wicket to a fiendish away-swinger from Arshdeep Singh that hit his back leg. But he reviewed and survived. Two more deliveries safely negotiated, he decided to shift through the gears. From the first to the fifth in a flash. He just shuffled across and smeared Pandya down the ground for a six. The stroke induced sudden panic and Pooran sensed this vulnerability and broke free. Three balls later, he slapped Pandya for a four through point before he toyed with Ravi Bishnoi and Mukesh Kumar. In an eight-ball phase, he blasted five fours and a six, turbo-charging West Indies. Suddenly they had raced to 61 runs in the first six overs.

Nicholas Pooran played a dreamy T20I knock.
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— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 6, 2023
Indian troubles
At the same juncture, India were 34 for two, with everyone except Tilak Varma labouring for runs. None of the top order managed to time the ball as efficiently as Varma did. Shubman Gill’s flick ended up as a leading edge; Suryakumar Yadav was run out; Ishan Kishan dialed in his power game to bail them out of trouble, but Romario Shepherd foxed him with a slanted-seam beauty that swung in and then held the line after pitching, beating his extravagant drive and sneaking through the gate to hit the stumps. Sanju Samson’s rush-of-the-blood sashay saw him stumped.
This has been the curse of most wickets in the Caribbean these days. There is hardly any ripping bounce or pace; the ball neither seams nor spins, it rather dawdles onto the batsmen. Timing the ball was incredibly difficult, hitting through the line nigh impossible. This was a classic non-T20 pitch, but one that is fast becoming a prototypical deck in the West Indies. Guyana, anyway, has horically produced such slumbering pitches.

Gill ➡️ Glory ➡️ Gone!
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— FanCode (@FanCode) August 6, 2023
But the nature of the pitch hardly mattered for Pooran. It’s what he does. When he is inspired, he takes the nature of the pitch out of the equation. He timed the ball better than all others. even Varma, whose 51 was a struggle in parts, and was aided no less slouchy fielding. Two rather straightforward catches were dropped. But Pooran’s 40-ball 67 was near flawless.
It was not blind swinging of the bat. In the grand tradition of Caribbean batsmen, he blends grace with power. Even the most ferocious stroke looks easy on the eye. In the Powerplay, he fetched most of his boundaries through cover. He is such an off-side-centric batsman that all six of his Powerplay boundaries were scored through there. The two sixes came over mid-on too. None of them were ugly heaves or wild slashes, but cultured stroke-play, with a mastery of threading through slender gaps.

Magical Mayers hits the Bulls Eye, once again 🎯.
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— FanCode (@FanCode) August 6, 2023
He alone carried West Indian hopes. In the middle overs, he was wary, inclined to sneak in singles rather than pursuing ambitious boundaries. He went through 11 boundary-less balls before cuffing Bishnoi for a six. He hit one off Mukesh Kumar as well, before the latter nailed him the next ball.
His exit sparked a characteric meltdown, with West Indies losing four wickets for three runs in the space of 12 balls. After Sanju Samson gobbled up Pooran on second attempt at cover-point, Romario Shepherd was run out in a horrible mix-up with Shimron Hetmyer. Three balls later, Yuzvendra Chahal took out Jason Holder stumped, beating him with both dip and turn. Suddenly, the momentum swung back in India’s favour. Two balls later, Chahal dislodged the last flickering hope, the last special batsman, Hetmyer, instigating delirious celebrations. But Joseph and Hosein held their nerve to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.