West Indies left-handed batter Nicholas Pooran posted a video on his social media account replying to India’s T20I captain Hardik Pandya’s challenge after hitting him for two consecutive sixes in the series decider fifth T20I in Lauderhill, Florida.
The Left hander played an important role for West Indies in the 5th T20I, helping his team win not just the match but also the series 3-2.
Pooran finally seems to be realizing his potential, smacked 184 runs and he was named the Player of the Series as West Indies chased down 166 in just 18.2 overs to register their first bilateral series win against India in 17 years. After the game, Pooran posted an Instagram story that can be interpreted as a ‘response’ to Hardik’s challenge.
Yeah, if Nicky [Nicholas Pooran] wants to hit, let him hit me: Hardik Pandya
Nicholas Pooran scored 47 runs off 35 balls in the fifth T20I, helping his team to victory. The left-handed batter struck Hardik for two sixes in the same over during his spell on the crease.
Following the conclusion of the T20I series between India and West Indies, Nicholas Pooran responded strongly to Hardik Pandya’s comments from the 3rd match.
Pooran collaborated with Akeal Hosein to create a video where he gestured to zip his lips, while the latter blew a flying kiss on camera. Accompanying the video was a caption that read, “If you know you know.”
Hardik had said after the 3rd T20I, “Yeah, if Nicky [Nicholas Pooran] wants to hit, let him hit me; that was the plan. I enjoy that kind of competition where I know I cannot err in line or length a lot as it gives the advantage to Nicky. In the fourth game, I hope he comes very hard at me and gives me a wicket as well.” “We lost the momentum when I came in and couldn’t capitalize on the situation.”
He added, “I believe we gonna challenge ourselves. We try to get better. In hindsight, it is fine. We don’t need to explain much. I know how the boys are within the group. We have enough time to figure out. Losing is good at times. On the positive side, we have done a lot of learnings. The boys showed character. Credit to them. They kept coming and tried something new. It is part of the process. It is what I feel at that moment. If I see a situation, I generally prefer something that comes to mind. No rocket science, just my gut feel.”