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Nicholas Pooran doesn't plan to hit sixes or work on his bat speed; according to him, he is just blessed with "incredible talent".
Pooran, a six-hitting machine, continued to deal in maximums and has notched up 13 in just two games for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The 29-year-old unleashed a relentless onslaught on Sunrisers Hyderabad with his rollicking 70 off a mere 26 deliveries to assist LSG in comfortably chasing down the 191-run target and sealing a five-wicket win with a handful of overs to spare. Pooran gave a sneak peek into the approach he adopts, which allows him to muscle the ball away into the stands effortlessly and garner a barrage of boundaries. For the Caribbean star, the key to his success doesn't lie in power but the timing of his shot. "I don't plan to hit sixes. I just try my best to get in good positions, and if it's there, I just time the ball nicely. In the last nine years, I have been working on my craft," Pooran said after the match, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. "Obviously, I have been getting the opportunity to bat higher up in the powerplay as well. It is really important to cash in when the wicket is nice, and obviously, when the match-up is there, you try your best to execute your skills," he added. After Mohammed Shami rattled the visitors early by pegging Aiden Markram's wicket, Pooran walked out to bat on the 10th ball of LSG's 191-run chase. He didn't waste much time getting in his groove, and he struck his first four on the second ball he faced. He charged at Simarjeet Singh in the third over and smoked two towering maximums, flaunting his effortless six-hitting prowess. At the end of the powerplay, Pooran had blazed his way to 44 off 16 with four fours and the same number of sixes. Pooran raced to fifty in 18 balls, his third-fastest in the tournament, as the Sunrisers bowlers perished one after another while trying to get his wicket. "I've never worked on my bat speed. I'm just blessed with incredible talent. I am really happy that I have put in the work over the years, and I am getting the reward on the cricket field and winning games for my team as well," he said. (ANI)
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