West Indies' batter Nicholas Pooran, who was having a tough time with the willow, wreaked havoc with a sensational knock of 43-ball 61 in the first T20I match against India. Riding on Pooran's brilliant innings, Caribbeans posted a competitive target of 158/7 in their stipulated 20 overs. It was quite evident from his knock, why Indian Premier League's (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) broke bank on him as they roped him for Rs 10.75 crore. The 26-year-old by all means justified the money spent on him. However, in the last IPL season, Pooran got out for a duck four times in six innings that he played for Punjab Kings.
It is worth noting that money rained heavily on Pooran during the mega auction of IPL which was held on February 12 and 13. Many franchisees wanted to include him in their camp. This is the reason that the price kept increasing which later crossed the amount of 10 crores. Due to which, in the end, SRH, understanding the importance of this batsman, poured 10.75 crores. Pooran has played 33 matches in IPL so far and has 606 runs in his kitty with 36 boundaries and 44 sixes. Not only this, Pooran also does wicketkeeping and through all these skillsets he can prove to be an instrumental player for Hyderabad in the upcoming season.
The middle order batter is known for his stormy batting and he did the same when he proved his worth even after getting a huge amount in the IPL auction. Pooran hit 4 sixes and 5 sixes in 43 balls during his innings. Through his knock he steadied West Indies' boat from the fall of five wickets for 90 runs. Apart from Pooran, Captain Kieron Pollard also scored an unbeaten 24 runs in 19 balls for their side which spurred West Indies to a respectable total and gave India a challenging task to chase.
Rohit-led India have already won the three-match ODI series as they whitewashed the Caribbeans 3-0. They will look to carry the same momentum and win the three-match T20 series as a build up to the upcoming Twenty-20 World Cup.