Watch: Nicholas Pooran pulls, flicks and slog-sweeps, smashes 15-ball fifty in incredible LSG turnaround
Watch: Nicholas Pooran unleashed one of the fiercest IPL counter-attacks of all time, yanking Lucknow Super Giants out of slumber and taking them close to an incredible chase in their IPL 2023 game against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Pooran became the joint third-fastest to hit an IPL fifty, taking just 15 balls to reach the landmark on his way to a pulsating 19-ball 62 that brought the game back to life.
Chasing 213, LSG had stumbled to 23-3 in four overs and were starving for momentum, when Marcus Stoinis hit back with a 30-ball 65, laced with five sixes and six boundaries. While KL Rahul was batting with a strike rate of 90 at the other end, the Australian took on the bowlers, taking the score to 99-4 in the 11th over.
With 114 still needed in 9.2 overs, Pooran walked out to bat. The former West Indies skipper had played three games prior to the RCB clash in the 2023 IPL, striking at more than 170 in all three encounters. He started off with a dot ball before smashing Karn Sharma for a six over long-on. It was the first of a ferocious onslaught, as he hit six more maximums and four boundaries in the next 17 deliveries to take LSG from a hopeless to a winning situation.
Pooran was eventually dismissed by Mohammed Siraj in the 17th over of the innings, with 24 more needed off the last 18 deliveries. Lucknow Super Giants went on to win the clash by one wicket after a last-over ruckus, where the visitors needed five to win their third game of the season.
