IPL 2023: Nicholas Pooran hails Mark Wood's brilliance for making 213 a comfortable chase for LSG vs RCB

Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) middle-order batter Nicholas Pooran has given credit for his team's thrilling last-ball win against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to brilliant last over bowled by pacer Mark Wood, which restricted the home team to 212. Wood gave away only nine runs off the final over and took the vital wicket of a rampaging Glenn Maxwell, and in the context of the game, that was a praiseworthy effort.

LSG, despite losing three wickets in Powerplay with just 23 runs on the board, managed to win the game by one wicket on Monday night, with the West Indian middle-order batter scoring a 19-ball 62 and blasting the fastest half-century in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 off just 15 deliveries. His 84-run partnership with Ayushi Badoni was the cornerstone of the team's morale-boosting win against Faf du Plessis's side.

"I thought it was a perfect cricket pitch. Mark Wood bowled an excellent last over and kept us in the game. Tonight wasn't a surprise to me. We just felt like it was a good cricket pitch, small boundaries," said Pooran, conceding that a target of around 220 would have put his side psychologically under pressure.

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"I think, psychologically, chasing 220-odd would have put additional pressure on us, but 213, we felt like the momentum was on our side. It was just that we needed to get that start," added Pooran. While crediting RCB bowlers Wayne Parnell (3/41) and Mohammed Siraj (3/22) for making early inroads and putting LSG in a spot of bother, Pooran added that every team in the IPL now bats deep, and a couple of good partnerships can change the complexion of the game anytime.

"Credit must be given to RCB bowlers Parnell and Siraj; they landed their fullest punch. But it's a game of cricket. Everyone has a long batting order, and the partnership between KL [Rahul] and Marcus [Stoinis], they batted well, especially Stoinis... changing the game for us, given us some momentum," said Pooran.

The 76-run stand between the skipper and Stoinis helped LSG overcome the early loss of three wickets and put the team back on track. Pooran said when he came in to bat, he was not thinking about how bad the situation was but only trying to get into the zone where he could hammer the RCB bowlers.

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"It [score] was gettable. Eventually, I didn't think about the situation [when I came in to bat] tonight. I just felt like I wanted to get in my zone and hit a couple out of the park, and that got me going, to be honest. I just felt like I had to take that chance against the leg-spinner to get my innings going, and I felt like everything flowed for me after that," added the 267-year-old left-handed batter.

"Even when [Ayush] Badoni came, he played well, and we were scoring boundaries, scoring at ten runs an over and in a blink of an eye, the game changes that fast. So, we could control the game for a couple of overs from there. We lowered the scoring [rate] from 14 to 10," reckoned Pooran.

However, Pooran was disappointed with himself for not playing till the end and scoring the winning runs. "I got out at the wrong time. Again, I want to get better at winning games and playing till the end. "I fell short and feel disappointed about that tonight, but happy that we could get the 'W'," he said.

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Pooran said his Monday strategy was to break down the game into match-ups and see how best it worked. "I watch the game, break it down, and be in the moment. Yes, we lost two [three] wickets. The run rate was up to 15, and we could be out of the game psychologically. But, in this game, I felt it's all about partnerships," he phrased.

"And, when I get into that zone, it's easier for you to break down the game. You know who your match-ups are, who you are looking to attack and who you can get those 15-20 from an over, who they will bring back to get you out. That's how the game should be played. T20 is a difficult game; experience plays a massive role, and I've struggled to finish games for the last six-seven years. I make bad decisions at the wrong time, and of course, I've cost my team a lot of games. That was my journey. I'm happy I can learn from it and improve performance," Pooran added.

He also praised former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR's) Rinku Singh for showing nothing is impossible. The Uttar Pradesh cricketer smashed five sixes in the last over as KKR defeated defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets off the match's last ball. "I guess we gave ourselves the best chance. The batters capitalised on the opportunity. You saw Rinku Singh scoring 30 off the last over the other night. So, the game, it's never over. There are a lot of incredible players and incredible batters. Anything is possible once you are there, considering that the boundaries [at the Chinnaswamy Stadium] are also small," he concluded.