Reduced overs do not bother WI batsmen
Warriors’ Pooran hits half-ton as world’s shortest format gets shorter
Cricketers and teams that play in the T10 League, especially the West Indies cricketers, have proved that they can adapt to any situation and entertain the fans.
The match between Northern Warriors and Maratha Arabians was reduced to a nineover contest due to delayed start owing to rain on Sunday night. Fans did not even feel that the shortest format was further shortened as the Warriors’ Nicholas Pooran batted as if the overs permitted were more than sufficient to hit his second successive half-century and helped his team beat the Arabians by eight wickets with 11 balls to spare.
Pooran scored 62 runs off 24 balls with four boundaries and six sixes. In the last match, Pooran had hit 77 against Punjabi Legends off just 25 balls with 10 sixes and two boundaries. The ease with which he hit sixes was a treat to watch, and in both innings he had more sixes than boundaries.
T10 League also proved that just because the number of overs have been reduced it is hard to score against tight bowling. In their nine overs, the Arabians could post only 94-6.
T10 has also shown that rarely can a team recover from a bad start, although often all wickets do not fall in the 10 overs. The Warriors’ success has been their top-order West Indies batsmen, especially openers Lendl Simmons, Pooran and followed by Andre Russell and Rovman Powell.
In fact, they should be called the Caribbean Warriors. With Darren Sammy too in the XI, it is a half West Indies squad for whom the number of overs doesn’t matter as their aim is to hit almost every ball for a six.
Incidentally, Andre Fletcher, another consistent scorer from the West Indies who plays for Pakhtoons, has the answer to why West Indies players are successful here. “We are strong guys and I guess this format is for West Indians,” he said. “We just have to continue doing our thing.”