Dashers in their own right, Nicholas Pooran and Rishabh Pant easily fall into the bracket of batters who bring fans at turnstiles of stadiums across cricketing universe due to their sheer ability to send the ball soaring into the stands.

The magic the two batters create on the 22-yard strip would have lost, had they not recovered from life-threatening accidents. Remarkably, both of them made a strong return to international cricket much earlier than expected, showcasing the power of resilience and determination in overcoming adversity. 

Ask Pooran about the ‘common thread’ that binds him and his Lucknow Super Giants skipper Pant, and the world number one T20 batter from the Caribbean just wants to count his blessings.

In January, 2015, Pooran, all of 19, suffered a near-fatal car accident in St Mary’s Trinidad. He was wheel-chair bound for considerable period with multiple surgeries on his knees and ankle.

In December 2022, Pant survived a horrific car crash when he was driving back home to Rourkee from Delhi.

“Even before the incident we (him and Pant) had a good relationship. We always connect. We always chat, get together whenever we can. If he’s in the Caribbean or if I’m here,” Pooran said.

“Accident is just something which was really unfortunate in our respective journeys but the bright side is we’re here playing cricket today. And that is a wonderful feeling. But yeah, we share our experiences. We try to help each other as much as we can,” Pooran added.

Pooran has had a few seasons now at LSG and he feels that team owner Dr. Sanjiv Goenka has been very supportive.

“He’s been brilliant when it comes to supporting the guys. He allowed the guys to make the decisions, based on the cricket. That’s what I have felt so far. The owners have given the guys enough opportunities and obviously that has an impact on the game for the whole team and that was wonderful.

“Obviously it’s business end and with his backing, hopefully the guys can come up trumps now,” said Pooran, who is third (377 runs at SR of 204) on the list of run-getters behind Sai Sudharsan (417 at SR of 152) and Virat Kohli (392 at SR of 144).

Pooran had scored 499 runs for LSG last season at a healthy strike-rate of 178 plus but he was batting either at No.5 or 6 instead of No. 3 this season, which he feels had made a lot of difference.

So, has there been a change in the mindset from last couple of seasons?

“My mindset is the same. Try to win games whenever I get an opportunity. Obviously, it is a different role batting at number 5 or 6.

“Batting at No. 3, I get an opportunity to face more balls. That’s something I wanted to capitalise on especially going into the Powerplay. So it’s all about taking the opportunity and doing what the team requires,” said Pooran.

The West Indian is the only batter with a 200 plus strike-rate among the current top-10 run-getters in IPL. 

Not many overseas batters taste instant success on sub-continental tracks but Pooran has been a smash-hit with his ultra-aggressive game and ability to hit sixes at will.

Ask about his recipe for success, and he cites the similarity with the pitches back in the Caribbean islands.

“I’ve played in India for a while now. The tracks are a bit similar like what we get back home, where the pitches do not have a lot of bounce. But these are actually good wickets to bat on so that’s something for me I felt like would be in my favour,” said the 29-year-old.

Embracing the conditions does help in lifting one’s game.

“I like playing here in India as well. So there’s extra motivation especially in this environment. The fans, they want you to do well and performing here is any cricketer’s dream.”

Pooran is a rare overseas batter, who is equally adept at playing slow bowlers as much as he loves sending the speed merchants on a leather hunt.

“I try to pick bowlers from their hands, try to pick their line and length. And I want to be in my zone, back myself hundred percent and try to smash it for a six.”

About his now famous bat-speed, he feels that it comes naturally to him.

“I have no secrets behind my bat speed. I’ve been asked that question a million times. I’ve never worked on it, I work just like everyone else. I’ve put in the work in the nets as well. So it’s just understanding your craft.” 

Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Chennai on Friday to keep their play-off hopes alive.

With his defeat, CSK almost bowed out of the play-offs race even as SRH stayed alive theoretically.

Despite getting assistance from the dew-laden surface, SRH made a heavy weather of the chase before finally knocking off the target in 18.4 overs.

Ishan Kishan (44 off 34 balls), after his brain fade against Mumbai Indians, played a responsible hand at the top before Kamindu Mendis (32 not out off 22 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (19 not out off 13 balls) got the visitors two points with a 49-run stand. This was SRH’s first win at this venue.

This, after pacer Harshal Patel made the best use of a sluggish Chepauk surface as Sunrisers Hyderabad put Chennai Super Kings on the brink of exit door by winning the battle of back-benchers.

With six points from nine games, SRH’s play-off qualification hangs by a thread as they need to win all their five matches and that too by a fair margin to end on 16 points, which is a safe cut-off.

SRH leapfrogged Rajasthan Royals to the eighth position in the 10-team table as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men remain at the bottom of the heap.

This is SRH’s first victory against CSK at this venue.

For CSK, their seventh defeat in nine games practically ends their hopes as they now need wins in the next five games and hope that the play-off cut-off remains at 14 for the fourth-placed team.

The confidence of CSK batters has been shot to pieces and the lack of a collective effort from their bowlers only compounded the problems.

Seamer Harshal Patel snared four wickets as Sunrisers Hyderabad bowled out five-time champions Chennai Super Kings for a modest 154 all out in an IPL match in Chennai on Friday.

In what is a probable must-win match for both sides, SRH bowlers executed their plans to perfection to limit CSK in their own den.

Harshal (4/28), who cleverly used change of pace, was complemented well by skipper Pat Cummins (2/21), ambidextrous spinner Kamindu Mendis (1/26), veterans Mohammed Shami (1/28) and Jaydev Unadkat (2/21).

Dewald Brevis (42 off 25) was the top scorer while Deepak Hooda (22 off 21) played some lofty shots towards the end to take CSK plus 150-run mark.

Sent into bat, CSK witnessed a horrendous start as they lost Shaik Rasheed of the first ball off Shami, caught by Abhishek Sharma at first slip.

It was a perfect Test match delivery, pitched on length outside off, shaping away with the batter just poking at it.

Young Ayush Mhatre (30 off 19) was, however, going great guns, picking up boundaries at will with his attacking batting against Shami, Cummins and Unadkat.

Sam Curran was the next CSK wicket to depart as he top-edged a Harshal Patel delivery to Aniket Verma at deep midwicket.

There was more agony in store for CSK as a set Mhatre was holed out by Ishan Kishan off Cummins in the sixth over as the hosts managed only 50 for 3 in the powerplay on a sluggish surface.

In the seventh over, Patel dropped a dolly off Zeeshan Ansari to hand Ravindra Jadeja (21) a life and the veteran India batter utilised the life to struck Ansari over long on for a huge six.

But Jadeja’s stay was cut short by Kamindu Mendis, cleaning up his stumps soon.

At the halfway mark, CSK reached 76 for four in 10 overs.

But Shivam Dube (12 off 9) and Brevis (42 off 25) had other plans as they took the attack to the opposition with their power hitting.

While Dube hit Shami for two exquisite boundaries through the covers in the 11th over, Brevis clobbered Mendis for three maximums in the next over to keep up the run rate.

Drafted into the side, Brevis was in destructive mood as he clobbered Patel for another six before being dismissed, caught by Mendis at long off.

However CSK lost wickets in a heap as Dube was holed out by Abhishek at long on off Unadkat in the next over.

In came Dhoni in his 400th T20 match, but he too failed to fire CSK as the veteran batter slashed a Patel delivery straight to Abhishek at point.

Towards the end, Hooda tried his best to lift the innings and did manage to take CSK past 150-run mark.

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya said captaincy is sometimes about instincts and innovation rather than just adhering to stereotype roles, following his team’s seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The all-rounder came up with yet another bold decision as he asked Deepak Chahar to bowl all his four overs in a single spell. Chahar returned excellent figures of 4-0-12-2 as he, along with New Zealand quick Trent Boult, reduced the Sunrisers to 13 for 4, from where the home side couldn’t recover and lost the contest in just 15.4 overs.

This was MI’s fourth consecutive victory and pushed the five-time IPL champions to third spot on the table with 10 points. Former MI skipper Rohit Sharma too played his part, smashing his second successive half-century this season.

“Realised that captaincy sometimes is about instincts. Want to see and react and not always pre-plan. In a situation like this where he (Chahar) bowled wonderfully in the powerplay, then why hold his fourth over back?” said Pandya, as Chahar went for the SRH jugular and made the biggest impact in the game.

“Good to have a win. Glad the boys are taking the momentum in the right way. I’ve felt, once everyone starts clicking in this team there will be domination. Deepak, Boult set it up; Rohit, SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) finished it. Overall, a wonderful win,” added the captain.

He, however, cautioned the team to not become complacent, saying a few more boxes still need to be ticked.

“Just need to get better in all departments. So far, very satisfied,” he added.

‘Player of the Match’ Boult, whose 4/26 took the wind out of SRH’s sails, also praised Chahar, saying the Indian quick did a great job.

“To keep a quality side down in their home conditions was the most satisfying. Deepak did a great job. I’d love to bowl four in a row and swing it around but it doesn’t always happen. You have to be ready to bowl in whatever stage you’re asked,” said the New Zealander.

SRH skipper Pat Cummins conceded that his team’s plans are not falling in place. SRH are currently in ninth place with just four points.

“After (losing) a couple of wickets, you have to find a way to steady the ship. Couldn’t do that. The difference between the first game where we got 280-plus and the next, where we folded, was big,” Cummins said.

“That’s T20, you don’t know what happens. Hasn’t worked out so far. We have a few away games now. It’s about assessing each wicket quickly. Some days it might be all-out attack and there’ll be graft on others.”