On Monday morning (IST), the Mumbai Indians New York beat the Seattle Orcas by a margin of seven wickets to win the very first season of Major League Cricket.
MLC 2023 Final:MLC 2023 Championship Game: On Sunday, Nicholas Pooran contributed greatly with the bat as MI New York won the first Major League Cricket championship.
At Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, MI New York defeated Seattle Orcas by seven wickets thanks to the wicketkeeper-batter’s 137 runs off 55 balls. MI Before chasing their target in just 16 overs, New York held Seattle Orcas to 183/9.
MI NEW YORK ARE THE FIRST MLC CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/iqpxgcPAoy
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 31, 2023
MI Imad Wasim dismissed Steven Taylor in their third delivery of the first over, giving New York a difficult start. But when Pooran hit successive sixes off Wasim’s bowling in the same over, he made his goals for the evening very clear. When he struck Dwaine Pretorius for three sixes and two boundaries in the third over, the West Indian showed off his excellent form.
Wayne Parnell struck out the first batter, Shayan Jahangir, in the fifth over, but Pooran kept finding maximums on the opposite end. In just six overs, he hit three sixes off Andrew Tye’s bowling to push MI New York’s total to 80/2. During his innings, Pooran regularly hit the centre of the bat, hitting a total of 10 fours and 13 sixes. The captain led MI New York to victory with 4 overs remaining while maintaining his flawless record at 137 runs off 55 balls.
MI New York won the toss earlier in the day and chose to bat first with Seattle Orcas. When he hit two straight boundaries off Jessy Singh in the second over, Quinton de Kock appeared to be in excellent form. Rashid Khan successfully defeated Nauman, De Kock’s opening partner
In the fifth over, Anwar was run out for 9 runs on 13 balls. Then, in the seventh over, Shehan Jayasuriya gave De Kock superb support by hitting David Wiese for four and six runs. However, in the tenth over, Steven Taylor struck him for 16 runs off 15 deliveries.
De Kock and Shubham Ranjane put up a superb partnership of 51 runs from 24 balls when Heinrich Klaasen left the game early, bringing Orcas’ score to 142/4 in 16.1 overs.
De Kock and Shubham Ranjane put up a superb partnership of 51 runs from 24 balls when Heinrich Klaasen left the game early, boosting Orcas’ score to 142/4 in 16.1 overs. After that, the Orcas continued to lose wickets often, until Dwaine Pretorius’ cameo of 21 runs in 7 balls allowed his team to reach a sizable total.
Leading scorer in the competition and MLC Season 1 MVP Nicholas Pooran commented on his team’s victory, saying, “We spoke today about having an opportunity to do something unique. I am extremely proud of everything each person achieved and the contribution they all made. I was instructed by others in the dressing room to simply bat like Nicky P and not to consider batting like the captain. I simply backed up my skills. Today, the opportunity and the platform were both present.
Wayne Parnell, the captain of the Seattle Orcas, added: “Whenever someone performs like that, you have to give them credit. Nicky and his team deserve praise. Pooran didn’t seem like he would miss a ball today. We put up a respectable total, but today we must give them credit. The inaugural MLC season has been a great success. Thanks to everyone who helped with the planning. For choosing this team and allowing us the flexibility to play this kind of cricket, we should be grateful to our owners and management.
Brief ratings:
By 7 wickets, MI New York defeated Seattle Orcas 183/9 (Quinton de Kock 87, Shubham Ranjane 29, Rashid Khan 3/9) with 184/3 (Nicholas Pooran 137*, Dewald Brevis 20, Imad Wasim 1/14).
