Nicholas Pooran. (Photo Source: ICC)
Former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran lit up the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad on Friday, May 31, showing his incredible six-hitting prowess against a second-string Australian bowling attack in a warm-up match before the T20 World Cup 2024.
Australia opted to bowl first after winning the toss. They didn’t have the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the team, as Tim David shared the new ball with Josh Hazlewood. Shai Hope got off to a brisk start before being dismissed by Ashton Agar.
Pooran came out to bat at No. 3 and deposited his first three balls out of the park. Johnson Charles, who opened the innings, wasn’t at his fluent best but contributed 40 off 31 balls. Meanwhile, Pooran smashed a swashbuckling 25-ball 75, belting five fours and eight sixes. He eventually fell to Adam Zampa in the 10th over.
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Skipper Rovman Powell came out to the crease and put the opposition bowlers to the sword, hitting a 25-ball 52. Additionally, Sherfane Rutherford also played a blinder, amassing 47 off just 18 balls as the Caribbean side posted a mammoth 257/4 in their 20 overs.
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Aussie fall short in quest to fight fire with fire
The Aussies didn’t back down, as David Warner and Ashton Agar played short but enthralling cameos to set the chase up. Captain Mitchell Marsh fell cheaply, but Josh Inglis smashed a 30-ball 55 to give his team some hope of pulling off the mammoth run-chase.
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Tim David, Matthew Wade, Nathan Ellis, and Adam Zampa hit some quickfire runs but could only take their team to 222/7, losing by 35 runs. Gudakesh Motie, who was in exceptional form during West Indies’ recent series whitewash over South Africa, starred with the ball, finishing with figures of 2/31 on a pitch that offered him very little assistance. This win, albeit against a shortened Australian side, will surely give the former two-time champions a lot of confidence heading into the home World Cup.