Nicholas Pooran Has Risen to The Occasion But His Job isn’t Quite Done Yet!
Pooran smashed a fine hundred against Nepal [Source: Twitter]
It was back in the month of July 2019 that Nicholas Pooran touched the first and foremost landmark any batsman, regardless of era or format, craves in his career: hitting a maiden century.
Of course that Pooran smashed a better than run-a-ball century and that too, in modern one day cricket’s highest echelons- the World Cup- was no less brilliant than his sensational batting style.
The 118 in the 2019 World Cup versus Sri Lanka has since then been held as a standard template of excellence that Pooran can, time and again, embrace but unfortunately hasn’t in the years hence.
And a lot changed in his batting and even around his teammates since the smattering of the Sri Lankan batters four years ago.
The likes of Fabian Allen, who were considered the next generation of agile and big hitting all rounders faded into oblivion. Then one saw Evin Lewis, talented and brutal and supposedly the next “Gayle” in making away from national contention.
The experienced Darren Bravo, much like the newfound Miguel Cummins too disappointed and didn’t really rise as well as one would’ve expected.
Carlos Brathwaite stepped away from batting into the commentary box, though whether as a result of his own call or that of the selectors- one doesn’t know.
The only unflinching factor of consistency and solidity at all these times was the surreal form and dependable batting of Shai Hope.
Pooran, all this while, kept chipping with whirlwind and breezy cameos, though never quite succeeding to convert an explosive forty odd knock or a quickfire 30 something into a big score.
The hundreds kept coming from Hope’s purposeful willow; Pooran, on the other hand, kept chipping in.
But then, all of a sudden, the batsman associated with massive hits and classy, elegant batting returned to the element of that seemingly faultless hundred he had scored four long years back on 22nd of June and that too, against Nepal, a tricky opponent, if not necessarily a force, in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers.
That Pooran’s explosive, entertaining and most importantly, intent-laced hundred, just the second of his one day career, came with Shai Hope holding fort at the other end made watching the West Indies cricket a refreshing sight.
Hope’s purposefulness, ever a standard ingredient of his game wasn’t functioning alone on this occasion; Pooran, if you watched closely, held his nerves and courted the often wild urgency of hitting big to give patience a chance to flourish.
The end result was a brilliant double hundred plus stand (216 runs for the 4th wicket) between the dasher and the doer combo that first repaired the Windies inning and ultimately, emerged as the game changing act.
It ought to be remembered that Pooran had walked into the middle with the side crumbling at 55 for 3.
Interestingly, the Trinidadian’s 115 was an inning that is, by far, his brightest and not because of that three figure mark that since 2019 had become slightly elusive.
Pooran proved his own self that he could achieve a lot by not doing something freakish like taking one risk too many, much like how he had gifted away his wickets in The Netherlands in 2022 and even during the Pakistan tour. And that greater sense prevailed in marrying stroke play with strike rotation.
All of this, you ought to feel, will be required one more time and rather critically against Zimbabwe, an opponent that will test the West Indies endlessly in the most anticipated clash that’s due to begin in the next few hours.
It’ll be a contest where either side competing will like to try its opponent to truly gauge its standing in this World Cup qualifier tournament. Which is why it might not be wrong to conclude that Pooran’s job is only going to get tougher and more interesting as more games swing by his West Indies’s way.
Fact of the matter is whether Shai Hope makes more centuries or not, knowing the Barbadian’s natural desire to get under the skin of the game situation, he’ll be satisfied with nothing less than giving his absolute bloody best.
But then, so too must Pooran, the gifted and charismatic stroke maker who can easily rip apart spinners and medium pacers alike.
He must do so one more time, and all for the great cause of the West Indies cricket’s survival right now.
And while he does that, his next big challenge will be to contribute to its revival.
Don’t you think?
 "Dev Tyagi")
