Nicholas Pooran up there with Heinrich Klaasen with the consistency he is showing in lower order: Eoin Morgan

Former England captain and world champion Eoin Morgan lavished praise on Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) Nicholas Pooran, remarking he is up there with Sunrisers Hyderabad's Heinrich Klaasen. His comments came after the wicketkeeper-batter scored a quickfire 40* off 21 deliveries against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2024), played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on April 2. Notably, his knock proved crucial for the side's 28-run win over the hosts.

Morgan said that Pooran had been equally good with Klaasen in terms of consistency while batting down the order. The former cricketer stated that the 28-year-old West Indian looks very confident at the crease while also insisting that everything he touches turns to gold.

“Nicholas Pooran up there with Heinrich Klaasen with the consistency that he is showing in the lower order of the game. The power he generates is one thing but actually the talent that is has is just amazing. Yes he spends a lot of time in the the gym, but you would not say that he is like Marcus Stoinis type of body, but the ball striking is incredible, it is brilliant to watch,” Morgan told Star Sports.
 
“You can just sit back and cheer everything on. Pooran is a very confident man but when he is in a purple patch, everything he touches turns to gold,” the 37-year-old further added.

Also Read: Shot of the Day - Nicholas Pooran launches Reece Topley out of Chinnaswamy - RCB vs LSG IPL 2024

Lucknow Super Giants beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 28 runs 

After being put to bat first, LSG made a flying start with Quinton de Kock and captain KL Rahul adding a 53-run stand before the latter was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell for 20 runs. The South African continued his power-hitting but Reece Topley sent him back to the pavilion in the 17th over. He scored 81 off just 56 deliveries, including eight boundaries and five maximums, respectively. Later Nicholas Pooran's 21-ball 40* allowed LSG to post a competitive total of 181 runs. 

Also Read: IPL 2024: RCB vs LSG Match 15 Highlights: Unmissable video recap, turning points, match analysis, stats, and more

In pursuit of the 182-run target, RCB batters struggled and were bundled out for 153 runs in 19.4 overs. Mayank Yadav was the pick of bowlers for LSG, who finished with excellent figures of 3/34. RCB's Impact player, Mahipal Lomror, top-scored (33 off 13 balls) for the home team with the help of three fours and as many sixes.