The inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket concluded on Sunday (Monday IST) with MI New York clinching the title against Seattle Orcas in Dallas. The brand MI continued to display its flawless cricketing skills as it added another trophy to its collection. Asked to bat first, the Orcas posted a good total of 183/9 in 20 overs with Quinton de Kock scoring 87 runs. However, the match turned upside down in the second innings as skipper Nicholas Pooran smashed a whopping total of 137 runs off just 55 balls and guided MI New York to victory by seven wickets.
Pooran's massive knock was laced with 13 sixes and 10 boundaries. The most memorable moment of the match came during the 16th over of MI's chase as the West Indies wicketkeeper thrashed Harmeet Singh for 24 runs. That over included a boundary and a stunning hat-trick of sixes.
3 SIXES TO END THE LAST OVER OF THE POWERPLAY!
— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 31, 2023
THIS IS SOMETHING SPECIAL, NICKY P!
8⃣0⃣/2⃣ (6.0) pic.twitter.com/pGRwHNz0nT
NICHOLAS POORAN MADNESS.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 31, 2023
0, 6, 6, 0, 0, 0, 1, 6, 6, 4, 6, 4, 1, 1, 4, 6, 6, 0, 6, 0, 0, 6, 0, 4, 4, 2, 0, 6, 0, 4, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 0, 1, 4, 0, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6, 1, 2, 4
He came when MI New York was 0 for 1 then smashed 137*(55) with 10 fours & 13 sixes. pic.twitter.com/xwDPLVdGKC
Nicholas Pooran playing a video game in MLC final....!!!!
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 31, 2023
69* from just 22 balls in the Powerplay with 9 sixes & 3 fours.
What a knock, Captain. pic.twitter.com/7tf2YPzCa1
Nah man i have never seen this kind of hitting in any T20 cricket final. Nicholas Pooran you have rocked my world as a Mumbai Indians fan. pic.twitter.com/ynCXavWUMG
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) July 31, 2023
With this total, the MI skipper also became the highest run-scorer of the MLC 2023 with 388 runs to his name. His knock of 137* was also the highest individual score by any batter in the tournament.
Notably, MI were one down for zero runs on the board during the chase. However, the skipper took the matter into his own hands and played a fearless innings to take his team to the inaugural title.
Talking about the match, no other batter, apart from de Kock, was able to go past the 30-run mark for Seattle Orcas. The bowling duo of Trent Boult and Rashid Khan broke the backbone of Orcas' batting line-up, with their respective three-wicket hauls. Apart from them, Steven Taylor and David Wiese took one wicket each.
Later, MI New York lost two wickets early as openers Steven Taylor and Shayan Jahangir departed for 0 and 10 runs respectively. However, it was Pooran who remained firm and played an extraordinary knock of 137 runs off 55 balls. Apart from him, Dewald Brevis and Tim David scored 20 and 10 runs respectively.
For Seattle Orcas, Imad Wasim and Wayne Parnell scalped one wicket each.
