West Indies skipper, Nicholas Pooran churned out a brilliant direct hit at the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday to terminate a dominant Indian opening partnership between skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill and bring his side back into the game. The wicket has injected some much-needed spice as the hosts’ attempt to build up on the unexpected blow.
After Nicholas Pooran won the toss and chose to bowl first in the first ODI on Friday, questions were raised about whether it was the right decision under the blaring sun in Port of Spain. As it turned out, the Indian openers were more than happy to open the batting, as they sent the ball to all parts of the ground in the powerplay.
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With regular captain Rohit Sharma resting from the series, Shubman Gill took charge of setting up the stage for India along with intermittent skipper Shikhar Dhawan. Both batsmen raced to 50 as they built up a partnership of 119, extracting costly overs from the likes of Alzarri Joseph. However, just when it looked like the Men in Blue were headed for a huge opening partnership, Nicholas Pooran rose up like the leader he is to provide the hosts with a crucial breakthrough.
Gill gently pushed the ball towards midwicket while facing Joseph in the 18th over and rushed towards the bowler’s end for a single. The ever-sharp Pooran raced to the ball and slung it at the stumps with lightning pace. A desperate stretch from the opener was not enough to rescue him, as he was found well short of the crease in the replays.
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Pooran’s brilliance has brought Shreyas Iyer onto the pitch and gives his bowlers a chance to tighten the screws on the visitors.
Here is the video of the throw from Nicholas Pooran:
https://twitter.com/Richard10719932/status/1550496674388508672?s=20&t=Ri1peLVR-qbreqp1aVotLQ
Here is how the cricketing fraternity reacted to the dismissal:
Looked very good. Unlucky to miss out on a 100 here @ShubmanGill #IndvsWI
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) July 22, 2022
Gill poor run got by Pooran pic.twitter.com/OfeKZQPtYe
— msd 4 ever (@gokara_rajugoud) July 22, 2022
Shubman Gill departs for a great 64 in just 53 balls. An unfortunate run out, but a very good knock by Gill. pic.twitter.com/u0xOqpuFpK
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 22, 2022
What a throw from Pooran. Don't mind the lacklustre running
— Antimony (@shab7977) July 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/madmadnotgood/status/1550495540663705600?s=20&t=20d2CHapeS3Bwcvrvq6loQ
#IndvsWI #Pooran runs out #Gill pic.twitter.com/OoYVsfeiZz
— sports&philately (@PhilatelySports) July 22, 2022
Well done pooran cause gill would’ve scored 100 here comfortable
— BigMike (@reachbigmike246) July 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/loga_60/status/1550494406901641217?s=20&t=upm9GJXfeLKup8sAq8h8ew
Clumsy from Gill!
Missed a definite ton!
Great run out from Pooran!#WIvsIND
— Koushik Biswas (@kbofficial25) July 22, 2022
