MLC 2023 Final: Here's why Nicholas Pooran's 137*(55) will not be added to his records

MI New York won the inaugural edition of Major League Cricket (MLC) after beating Seattle Orcas by seven wickets in the final on Monday, July 31. Stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran starred with the bat as he played a breathtaking knock of 137* in just 55 balls. However, this innings won't be added to his records as the MLC does not have an official T20 status.

The tournament was held in the USA, which is an Associate member nation, and hence, the International Cricket Council (ICC) hasn't granted it official T20 status. It is interesting to note that ICC has sanctioned MLC but unfortunately, like popular tournaments like Abu Dhabi T10 League, US Masters T10 League, Global T20 Canada, and ILT20, the six-team tournament hasn't received the all-important T20 status. However, this shouldn't take anything away from Nicholas Pooran's whirlwind knock that set the stage on fire.

The southpaw hit 10 fours and 13 sixes during the memorable innings and reached the three-figure mark in just 40 balls. In the absence of the regular captain Kieron Pollard, Pooran stepped up in the summit clash as the MI brand added another title to its cabinet.

Rashid Khan and Trent Boult reign supreme

Nicholas Pooran won the toss and opted to bowl first in the MLC 2023 final, at the Grand Prairie Stadium, in Dallas. Quinton de Kock was on song for the Wayne Parnell-led side as he scored a scintillating 87 off just 52 balls. Cameos from Shubham Ranjane (29 off 16) and Dwaine Pretorius (21 off 7) helped SEO put up a challenging target of 184 for MINY. However, the target could have been in excess of 200 if experienced bowlers like Trent Boult and Rashid Khan hadn't stepped up on the big stage.

The Afghan spinner had a surprisingly quiet tournament leading up to the final. However, big players step up when the stakes are high and that was the case for Rashid as he finished with mind-boggling figures of 3/9 in his four overs. Boult, on the other hand, wasn't as economical but he took the important wickets of de Kock and Ranjane to stem the flow of runs at the backend of the SEO innings.

MINY lost the wicket of Steven Taylor in the first over but went on to chase the stiff target of 184 with four overs to spare thanks to Pooran's blitzkrieg.