Nicholas Pooran gave the team victory by hitting 44 runs in 13 balls.Image Credit source: BCCI
Hyderabad: It has been seen many times in IPL that whether a player plays against a team or not, he is definitely seen against his old team. Many such examples have been seen in every season. How can the IPL 2023 season be different? The most recent sight of this was seen at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad, where Sunrisers Hyderabad had to face defeat from Lucknow Super Giants and the reason for this was- Nicholas Pooranwhich was released by Hyderabad.
In this clash between Hyderabad and Lucknow, the contest remained equal for a long time. During Lucknow’s batting, however, Hyderabad was looking forward in the beginning and was seen as a contender for victory. This changed from the 16th over and Nicholas Pooran became the reason for this.
Done in 13 balls
Lucknow’s score was 114 for 2 wickets in 15 overs. 69 runs were needed in 30 balls. Marcus Stoinis started by hitting two sixes in the 16th over. He also got out in the same over. Then Puran came to the crease and as soon as he came, he hit 3 consecutive sixes in the last 3 balls of the over. Pooran became only the second batsman in IPL history to start his innings with three consecutive sixes. Before him, Sunil Narine had done this feat against Bangalore in 2021.
🧡play🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
Relive the three sixes from @nicholas_47 that changed it all 💥💥💥#TATAIPL , #SRHvLSG https://t.co/T3IyHw8HbI pic.twitter.com/bG6Hz6mQBr
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 13, 2023
Puran did not stop even after this. After this, he hit 2 sixes and 3 sixes again in his innings and gave Lucknow a memorable 7-wicket win by hitting 44 runs in just 13 balls. This was the second time this season when Puran won Lucknow with such an explosive innings. Earlier, Puran played an important role in winning the team by scoring a half-century in just 15 balls against Bangalore.
Revenge of indifference taken from Hyderabad
His innings against Hyderabad was also special because he was a part of this franchise last season. Sunrisers bought Puran in the mega auction for Rs 10.75 crore. Puran also scored 306 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 144. Despite this, the team had released him. Then Lucknow bought him in the auction held in December 2022 for Rs 16 crore and Puran is now proving to be a profitable deal for him.