West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran on Tuesday (October 20) scored a gutsy half-century to help Kings XI Punjab beat Delhi Capitals by 5-wicket in the 38th match to register their third consecutive win in the ongoing IPL 2020 at Dubai International Stadium.
Chasing the modest 165-run target against Delhi Capitals, KXIP have found themselves in danger with skipper KL Rahul being dismissed for 15 and then Pooran’s hard call for single ran Mayank Agarwal out leaving Punjab at 57 runs on the board by the end of the powerplay.
But then, Pooran played brilliant innings of 53 off just 28 balls laced with three 6s and six 4s and stitched a crucial 69-run stand with Glenn Maxwell (32 off 24 balls) to take the KXIP to a driver seat as Deepak Hooda played some quick shots to help Jimmy Neesham finish the game with a six against DC.
Following suffering six consecutive defeats, KXIPL is now back on the winning track with back-to-back wins and Pooran believes that they have “started to peak at the right time”, saying “everything is working for them now” in the ongoing IPL 2020.
The left-hander was also delighted to be able to get over the line against the table-toppers DC and now they just want to continue to improve to carry on the momentum in the T20 league.
In a video posted by IPL on Twitter, Pooran told Maxwell: “Everything is working for us now. We have started to click as a team. Most importantly, I always believe that in T20 cricket, momentum is everything. I think we have started to peak at the right time. We do not want to take anything for granted and just want to continue to improve.”
The Windies batsman also pointed out that both batters and bowlers are now delivering good performances that is a great thing for the KXIP in this crucial stage of the tournament.
He further explained, “Before these three games, we spoke and it was that we have to win, Chris (Gayle) spoke about that there is only one way from here and it is upwards. We knew that we have to deliver in the powerplay and at the backend.”
Pooran signed off by saying, “Chris is back in the team, he brought a lot of confidence. Shami, CJ, and Arshdeep are having an impact and spinners are also having a big impact.”
Noteworthy, KXIP is currently placed at the fifth spot in the points table with four wins in 10 matches so far and they will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday in the IPL 13.
(With ANI Inputs)
