Nicholas Pooran shows bruises sustained after blows by Brandon King and Arshdeep Singh in the 5th T20I
West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran has shown his battle wounds after the team's 3-2 series triumph over India. The Player of the Series was struck with the ball on multiple occasions during the fifth T20I against India at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida on Sunday.
While standing at the non-striker's end, Pooran was hit on his left forearm by a ferocious shot by Brandon King. He was also hit on the stomach by a delivery bowled by his former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise teammate, Arshdeep Singh.
The left-handed batter soldiered on after being hit twice and scored 47 runs off 35 deliveries to set up a platform for the West Indies to secure the series win. Pooran and King stitched together a 107-run partnership for the second wicket while chasing 166 runs, shunning India out of the contest altogether.
Such blows tend to inflame after a while, and that is exactly what happened in Pooran's case as well. The former captain showed his bruises on social media, jokingly thanking King and Arshdeep for the same.
"The after effects. Thank you brandon king and arsdeep," his caption read.
Pooran played a starring role in West Indies' first bilateral series triumph over India since 2006. He was not present to collect his Player of the Series award as he had to catch a flight.
Pooran scored 176 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 141.94
Recently climbing to the second spot in the list of the highest run-scorers in T20I cricket for West Indies, Pooran was in red-hot form against the Men in Blue. He scored a whirlwind 67 in West Indies' nervy win in the second T20I and finished the series on a high with a composed knock as well.
Prior to the series against India, the wicketkeeper-batter was part of the MI New York squad that won the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC). He led the team in the absence of Kieron Pollard during the playoffs and scored a magnificent hundred in the final as well.
Pooran is arguably among the most in-form white-ball batters in the world at the moment and will be next seen during the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2023.