The Royals won the toss and opted to bat first but the decision didn’t go their way as an excellent Trinbago bowling display, led by Isuru Udana’s 5 for 21, restricted them to 122 all out.
In reply Trinbago initially made hard work of the chase before the experienced duo of Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin saw them home with ease.
The Royals had got off to a steady start reaching 37 runs at the end of the PowerPlay for the sole loss of Johnson Charles.
However, they could not build on the foundation as Udana’s double strike removed Jason Holder and Glenn Phillips in quick succession.
A counter-attacking 30 runs from Azam Khan briefly threatened to help Barbados set an imposing target but Udana’s re-entry into the attack led to the dismissal of both Khan and Thisara Perera to complete the first five-wicket haul of the 2021 Hero CPL.
The remaining Royals wickets fell like dominoes to leave them on 122 all out.
Trinbago stuttered in their chase of the target losing three wickets in the PowerPlay as Mohammed Amir started his spell with laser-like accuracy and Oshane Thomas followed that up by getting Tim Seifert to top-edge a rising delivery to deep square leg.
At 38 for 4 the Knight Riders were in a perilous situation, but captain Pollard took on the responsibility to take the drama out of the chase with a brilliantly constructed 58 runs from 30 balls.
Along with the experienced Denesh Ramdin, the pair put on an 87-run partnership from 57 balls to see Trinbago home comfortably.
In a match interrupted several times by rain, the West Indies lost five wickets for one run but recovered to 180 for 7 from 16 overs thanks to some calculated hitting from their captain, Kieron Pollard.
However, New Zealand replied with 179 for five from 15.2 overs to win by Duckworth/Lewis method.
The home side won the toss and asked the visitors to bat and they obliged racing to 58 without loss in 19 balls courtesy of Andre Fletcher’s 14-ball 34 that included three fours and three sixes.
However, when he was bowled by Lockie Ferguson the second ball of the fourth over, it triggered a collapse wherein the West Indies lost five wickets in 11 balls. Four balls later, he had Shimron Hetmyer caught behind without scoring – 58 for 2.
The West Indies lost two wickets in the following over bowled by Tim Southee, who removed Brandon King for 13 and Rovman Powell without scoring as the West Indies stumbled to 58 for 4. In the very next over, Ferguson trapped Nicholas Pooran lbw for 1 and the West Indies had collapsed to 59 for 5.
Pollard came to the rescue of the Caribbean side as he and Fabian Allen hauled the West Indies to 143 in the 14th over when Ferguson had Allen caught for 30 behind and Keemo Paul out by a similar route without scoring to leave the West Indies 146 for 7.
Meanwhile, at the other end Pollard was at his destructive best, smashing 75 off just 37 balls with four fours and eight sixes to carry the Caribbean side to a competitive total.
Man of the Match Ferguson returned figures of 5 for 21 from his four overs, while Southee took 2 for 22 from 3.
However, the Pollard-led recovery was all for naught as New Zealand, led by Neesham’s unbeaten 24-ball 48 and Devon Conway’s 29-ball 41, propelled New Zealand to 179 for 5 from 15.2overs and the series lead.
Neesham and Conway dragged New Zealand back from 63 for 4 mid-way the seventh over to what turned out to be a comfortable victory. In a fifth-wicket stand of 77 that came off just 34 balls, the pair smashed the West Indies bowling to all parts before Conway fell to Pollard in the 13th over but by then the damage had been done.
Mitchell Santer picked up from there smashing three sixes as he raced to an unbeaten 31 from just 18 balls to secure victory.
New Zealand were aided by poor bowling from the West Indies, especially from Keemo Paul and Kesrick Williams being, who were most culpable. Paul bowled five no-balls while giving up 39 runs from his three overs while Williams’ half volleys saw him being taken for 33 runs from two overs. Allen gave up 32 from two overs.
Oshane Thomas 2 for 23 from three overs was the best of the West Indies bowlers while Sheldon Cottrell returned figures of 1 for 30 from his four overs.
According to Pollard, while the spread of COVID-19 has brought sport around the world to a halt, there is an opportunity for West Indies players to improve.
“I think it is a good time for introspection, a good time for reflection, a good time to look at where you are as an individual, in your career and what you want to achieve going forward,” said the skipper, a man not known to mince words.
The West Indies have been sporadically producing good results under Pollard’s watch, but the big all-rounder has craved consistency, something he says will come with a better mental approach.
That approach, thanks to COVID-19, can be honed during this time off.
“[…] you have to take the time to do that and also to keep yourself in physical shape and mentally as well because when the bell rings and you hear ‘ok everything is back to normal and we need to go on tour,’ there might not be enough time to prepare so you, yourself as an individual have to be prepared mentally in order for you to try to perform at your best,” he said.
According to Pollard his public statements won’t count as new to the players.
“[…] guys have been notified as to where they need to be and the onus is on individuals to try and meet those requirements,” said Pollard.
The regional team is in the grips of a particularly bad spell, after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Ireland in the most recent One Day International series. The series was the first the Irish have won again them and sent shockwaves around the region.
The team’s batsmen were in particularly woeful form with only Sharmarh Brooks, Shai Hope, and Odean Smith managing to average over 30. Albeit on a pitch that held moisture early on, and losing the toss three times, the West Indies only managed to make over 250 runs in the first match, well short of the total typically required for a good innings in modern ODI cricket.
With many of the batsmen continuing to look out of sorts, despite often putting in strong spells in regional cricket, Richards believes substandard pitches are partially to blame for the situation.
“I don’t think there is enough preparation being put into wickets, and wickets play a huge part because sometimes you get some individuals who would be selected because of some good performances on some dodgy tracks,” Richards told Antigua’s Good Morning Jojo Radio program.
“So, when you get to the bigger picture or they take a step up, then you find individuals are found wanting because these wickets are rather inferior on either sides of the coin, whether it’s batting or bowling. We need to pay a little more attention to having proper wickets that can be quite competitive for bat and ball,” he added.
Akeal Hosein (30-3) and Alzarri Joseph (39-3) were exceptional in reducing Australia to 45-6 before the tourists rallied to 187.
But the West Indies stumbled in their chase, slumping to 72-5 before Pooran (59* from 75) combined with Jason Holder (52) for a decisive 93-run sixth-wicket stand.
Player of the Match Pooran was crucially dropped by Moises Henriques off Adam Zampa on 26, before making his eighth ODI half-century.
Mitchell Starc, who finished with 26-3 from 10 overs, had dismissed Evin Lewis (1) and Darren Bravo (duck), before trapping Holder LBW but Pooran guided the hosts home.
Earlier, Australia struggled with the bat, with Hosein dismissing Henriques, stand-in captain Alex Carey and Ashton Turner in an excellent spell.
Matthew Wade (36) and Adam Zampa (36) rallied for Australia, before an excellent late cameo from second-gamer Wes Agar (41 from 36).
POLLARD HAILS 'SCRATCHY' POORAN
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said allowing Australia to reach 187 was disappointing but hailed Pooran's determination after a "scratchy" knock.
"What was good this time around was the fight by the guys, Nicholas Pooran getting that half-century and Jason Holder as well," Pollard said.
"Pooran has been looking like his old self again. He was a bit scratchy tonight but sometimes that's what you need in a game like this. You want someone to scrap and I think they both scrapped well for us to come through for a victory."
The West Indies avoided suffering back-to-back home defeats for the first time since August 2019.
Pooran's innings also took him past 1,000 ODI runs, becoming the 39th West Indian player to achieve the feat and the joint-third fastest for the side (Viv Richards – 21, Gordon Greenidge – 23, Ramnaresh Sarwan – 27).
AUSSIES STILL BULLISH AHEAD OF DECIDER
Australia are unbeaten in their past six ODI bilateral series (W4, D2) against West Indies and missed out on the opportunity to seal another victory but Carey remained bullish ahead of Monday's decider.
"Bring on game three," Carey said. "The batting group has a bit to prove to get a good score on the board for our quicks but our quicks and spinners are doing a great job."
The stand-in skipper bemoaned Australia's top-order batting, with none of the top six scoring more than 16.
"Obviously it doesn't help when you're five for not-a-lot," he said. "Wade and the bowlers did a great job to get us to a total and we were back in the game.
"We took some early wickets again and the belief was there. We created opportunities and we were in the game in the back end. Unfortunately we couldn't quite close it out and it proved we were 20 or 30 short."
Chasing 189-6 set by Australia, the West Indies lost by four runs as Russell turned down five opportunities to rotate the strike with Hayden Walsh Jr. He managed to hit the final delivery for six but by then victory was beyond the West Indies.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Pooran said Russell made the right decision.
“I thought, and the team thought, that was the best decision for the team. Andre batting six balls, that’s two hits. He is a six-hitter, if he had hit two sixes then everyone would say that’s the best decision. We backed him 100 per cent. We believe he did the right thing,” Pooran said.
Asked if it would not have been better to rotate the strike and reduce the ask as the number of balls dwindled, Pooran said it was not that simple.
“It’s easy to say we could have got four singles (from the first four balls of the over). When Russell takes a single off the first ball that means Hayden Walsh is on strike, so we need him to get a single, so it’s difficult,” he said.
“That’s why in the last over, it’s pressure. A lot of guys don’t know how to cope under pressure. He (Walsh) could have gotten out. Starc is a world-class bowler at the top of his game. He was getting the ball to reverse swing and our best hitter in the game right now is batting, so we back him 100 per cent to hit two boundaries or two sixes to carry us over the line. And we will do it again in the future.”
The West Indies will face Australia in the final match of the series on Saturday night.
The three players tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Pakistan last week and have been ruled out of the tour that involves three T20 internationals and three ODI’s from December 13 to 22.
While describing the situation as being ‘unfortunate’, the Trinidadian, who is leading the team in the absence of the injured Kieron Pollard, said that while the unavailability of the three players will disrupt their initial plans, he believes it presents a chance for others to take advantage.
“(The) selectors and coaches had original plans on what the 11 would look like, who was going to play, who wasn’t going to play,” Pooran told members of the media Sunday.
“When saying that, other guys are going to get the opportunity to showcase their talent and abilities, so we are looking forward to seeing those guys take their opportunity.”
The three players out with Covid is expected to have a major impact on the team that is already without several of its senior players including Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis.
In their absence players like Odean Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Dominic Drakes, Justin Greaves and Shamarh Brooks, are among those aiming to cement a place in the team that has begun a process of rebuilding following a disastrous ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates where the West Indies was eliminated in the group stage after winning only one of their five matches.
Pooran said he is excited to see what the new players will bring to the team.
“It’s obviously a new rebuilding stage for us now. It is unfortunate that we don’t have other senior players here but when saying that I am very excited to see this new crop of players get onto that cricket field,” he said.
“I believe that there are a lot of talented players here, a lot of special players, especially when it comes to the shorter form of the game so I am very excited to see what’s going to happen on the cricket field. I am looking forward to seeing us play together, sticking to our plans as much as possible and being hungry for success.”
The loss, with 17 balls to spare meant New Zealand won the three-match series 2-1.
Playing before their home crowd, Kyle Mayers scored 105 and Shai Hope, 51, to set the base for the West Indies’ challenging total of 301-8.
Both featured in an opening stand of 173 before Trent Boult dismissed Hope in the 35th over. Two balls later Lockie Ferguson removed Mayers at the same score and triggered a slide as the West Indies slipped to 191-4 in the 39th over.
Pooran then came to the rescue smashing nine sixes and four fours in a 55-ball 91 that took the West Indies within sight of 300 by the time he was dismissed by Boult in the 49th over.
Alzarri Joseph clubbed 20 from just six balls as the West Indies innings closed on 301-8.
Boult finished with 3-53 while Mitchell Sandter took 2-38. Ferguson was the most expensive of the bowlers with 1-80 from his 10 overs.
Needing 302 for victory, Martin Guptill (54), Devon Conway (56), Tom Latham (69) and Daryl Mitchell (63) combined to take the tourists within sight of victory.
James Neesham then took them over the line with 17 balls to spare with a quick-fire 34 from 11 balls to seal the match and the series.
Jason Holder was the best of the West Indies bowlers with 2-37. Yannic Corriah returned figures of 2-77.
Pooran, who dropped Mitchell on 23 off Corriah’s bowling rued the team’s failure to secure victory.
“Tough one. 300-plus on that wicket felt good. One or two wickets more in the Powerplay would have helped but they played well,” he said.
“When it (the ball) got wet, we saw how tough it got.”
He also addressed the West Indies' slow start to their innings wherein they scored only 24 runs from the first 10 overs.
“In hindsight, everyone will talk about starting slow,” Pooran said. “But we had discussed not giving away wickets to Boult and Southee and capitalize.
“But they are a top team. I do believe we have a special bunch of guys and have no doubt we will get better with experience. It was difficult with the ball once it got wet. We let go of the chance of winning the second and this happened. We won the first, lost the second and we came here, committed and fought. We will learn and have better ways.”
What a difference a week makes as the regional side are now reeling from suffering their own 0-3 sweep at the hands of the Pakistanis after a 53-run loss in Sunday’s third ODI in Multan.
West Indies ODI and T20I captain Nicholas Pooran believes there are some positives his team can take from the series despite the result.
“One positive from this series is definitely character. The character shown by the players, especially coming out here in 45-degree temperature. A lot of guys got sick as well and we kept fighting,” Pooran said in an interview after the third game.
“We said at the start of this series that we’re going to stick together, no matter the result we’re going to stick together and that’s what happened,” he added.
As is almost always the case when the Windies suffer a series defeat, fans will be frustrated but Pooran promises a change in fortunes sooner than later for the team.
“A lot of people will be upset that we lost and bash us but I feel like we got really close as a team. It’s my second tour as captain and I felt like we were actually really building a family here and that’s a positive,” he said.
“Despite the result, I think we had a good showing, especially in the first game. Looking forward, we’re definitely going to be winning some games and hopefully make the fans proud,” he added.
Before the third ODI, Pooran had bowled only two deliveries in his previous 42 ODIs as he spent the majority of those as the wicket-keeper.
He took 4-48 from his 10 overs on Sunday and said we may see more of him bowling his off-spin in the future if the situation presents itself.
“For sure. Today was amazing for me and the guys in the dressing room know I’m going to talk a lot about it. I’m not going to get overconfident but, hopefully, there are two left-handers in the next series so I can bowl as well,” he said.
Pooran's explosive unbeaten 62 off 33 balls with six 6s and four 4s kept the West Indies in with a chance of overcoming the target, even to the final over when 20 runs were required to overhaul Pakistan's total of 157-8.
However, Shaheen Shah Afridi claimed the wicket of captain Kieron Pollard (13) and then denied the rampant Pooran the opportunity to swing freely and lustily at the next three deliveries to ensure the visitors came away with the win, with the hosts kept to 150-4 off 20 overs.
West Indies suffered a setback when opening batsman Evin Lewis retired hurt on 35 off 33 balls with two fours and two sixes mid-way through the innings.
Earlier in the match, it was Holder and Dwayne Bravo who combined to put the brakes on the Pakistan scoring rate. Holder returned the excellent figures of 4-26 while Bravo, the leading wicket-taker in all T20 cricket, claimed 2-24 as the tourists squandered a solid platform provided by Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Babar’s polished 51 off 58 balls with two sixes and four 4s was the top score of the innings. He put on 67 runs for the third wicket with Rizwan (46) after Sharjeel Khan and Rizwan had set the stage for a challenging target in putting on 56.
Pollard, who played the supporting role in a 70-run fourth-wicket partnership with Pooran to revive the West Indies chances, gave credit to the West Indies bowlers for limiting the visitors after he chose to put them in to bat.
“We were staring down the barrel of a 170-plus total and I was really happy with the way the bowlers battled back in the latter half of their innings,” Pollard said.
“We had to try and explode towards the end, but it just didn't work out.”
The result saw the Asian team complete a 3-0 series whitewash of the Windies and continue their stranglehold over the Caribbean team in the ODI format, which amounts to an 11th straight win. Unlike the two previous fixtures, however, the third and final match proved a more competitive affair.
The Windies were off to another difficult start after losing Brandon King, Shai Hope, and Shamarh Brooks in the first 6 overs and with only 16 runs on the board. Pooran, however, steadied the ship alongside Keacy Carty, and the two combined to put on 67 for the fourth wicket.
The partnership was, however, ended when Carty was caught at mid-on, on 33, after a loose shot failed to clear Tamim at mid-on.
Pooran then partnered with Rovman Powell to put on another 34, but Powell was clean bowled by Taijul Islam, leaving the team on 117 for 5. The Windies captain struggled to find partners to occupy the crease and his outstanding innings came to an end on 73, after also being bowled by Islam.
Romario Shepherd added a useful 19 from 22 and the Windies ended with their highest score of the series on 178.
Islam ended with the best figures for Bangladesh after taking five for 28.
In pursuit, Bangladesh got off to a strong start as Liton Das had an even 50, while captain Tamim Iqbal played his part with 34. The team found themselves in trouble mid-innings after some rash strokes left them struggling at 5-116, before an unbeaten 32 from wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan in partnership with Mehidy Hasan saw them home. Motie had career-best figures for the Windies after taking 4 for 23.
Darren Bravo and Gudakesh Motie replaced Shai Hope and Akeal Hosein in the team for this game as Hope and Hosein were among the five additional members of the touring party to test positive for COVID-19 during PCR tests administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday.
With Hope missing, Shamarh Brooks joined regular opener, Brandon King, at the top of the innings. Together they brought up 50 in the fifth over with King going well on 37 and Brooks on 11.
King was dismissed on the last ball of the powerplay by Mohammed Wasim Jr for a well-played 43 to leave the team 66-1 after six overs.
Pooran came to the crease to join Brooks who was on 21.
Brooks narrowly missed out on a maiden T20 International 50 when he was dismissed for 49 by Shahnawaz Dahani in the 10th over to leave the West Indies 99-2.
After 15 overs the West indies were 153-2 with Pooran on 37 and Bravo on 16. Pooran brought up his fourth T20 International 50 in the 17th over off 31 balls.
He was eventually dismissed by Wasim Jr for 64 from 37 balls to leave his team 192-3 in the 18th over.
The 200 came up in the 19th over with Bravo on 30 and Rovman Powell on four.
The West Indies eventually ended their turn at the crease on 207-3 with Darren Bravo finishing not out on 34 from 27 balls and Rovman Powell not out on six.
Pacer Shahnawaz Dahani was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers with 1-23 from his four overs.
Chasing 173 for victory, the West Indies were bowled out for 163, a result that the Trinidadian agrees could have been different had better application been shown by a number of their batsmen.
Asked why the players, himself included, keep making those mistakes, Pooran said he simply did not know but pleaded for understanding as the team was still learning.
“To be honest, I really don’t have an answer. If we knew why we make mistakes then we would have the best team in the world by now, but it’s cricket,” Pooran said.
“We are learning on the job, so don’t be too hard on us.”
Explaining why he got out to Mohammad Nawaz going for a second consecutive six when the bowler had already conceded 14 runs, more than the required 10 runs an over, Pooran said: “I saw Nawaz as a match up. I thought to go after him but in saying that, getting 14 in the over, I felt like I didn’t have to play that shot off the last ball of the over when I could have just tried to start the next over, so knock it down and take single.
“So that’s why I felt it was a silly mistake from me because that’s something we talk about, we don’t want to be getting out on last balls if we don’t need to.”
He said Brooks, who got out trying to sweep similar to a shot he played in the first match when he was given out but survived after he called for a review, is still learning on the job and is still trying to find his feet in T20 cricket.
Both sides had already qualified for the Super 8s, but West Indies ensured they finished unbeaten in Group C, breaking a few records along the way.
Afghanistan had no answers to the co-hosts' dominant batting performance, with Johnson Charles getting 43 off 27 balls before Pooran plundered 98 off 53 balls, including six fours and eight sixes.
He was run out in the final over while searching for his century, but Shai Hope (25) and Rovman Powell (26) had already helped push West Insides towards the highest total of the tournament so far with 218-5.
West Indies did not let up during the Afghanistan chase, starting strongly when Akeal Hosein had Rashid Khan caught for a duck in a wicket maiden to start.
Obed McCoy was the standout though, as he took 3-14, including Ibrahim Zadran, who was starting to build some momentum with his 38, leaving Afghanistan all out for 114 with 22 balls remaining.
West Indies meet holders England in their first Super 8 match on Wednesday, while Afghanistan face India the following day.
Data Debrief: West Indies finish group in record-breaking style
West Indies' score of 218 was their highest-ever at the T20 World Cup, while they also registered the highest powerplay score with 92, beating the Netherlands' record of 91 against Ireland in 2014.
In the fourth over alone, they scored 36 runs - equalling the record for the most expansive over in men's T20s.
Pooran has scored the joint-most sixes in the tournament so far (13, along with USA's Aaron Jones), and has broken the record for the most sixes (128) in T20s for West Indies, going past Chris Gayle's 124.
His total of 98 was also the highest individual total at this World Cup, carrying him past 2000 runs in T20Is.
All in all, not a bad day for the West Indies.
The Windies currently lead their five-match T20 series against Australia, 3-1. So far, Pooran has made a total of 65 runs in three innings. He was run out in the first game for just 17 from 16 deliveries and did not bat in game 2. He had a better game 3 when he scored a responsible 32 not out from 27 deliveries to build a partnership with Chris Gayle that led the Windies to the series victory.
Despite that good performance in the previous game, Pooran was dismissed cheaply once again in game 4. With the West Indies chasing 190 to win, he was caught off the bowling of Mitchell Marsh for just 16 from 15 deliveries.
Pooran’s lack of form has been a concern for many West Indies cricket fans and analysts since the IPL earlier this year. The left-hander, who represents the Punjab Kings, only managed 28 runs from 7 matches before the tournament was halted due to the rising COVID cases in India. He was dismissed for a duck 4 times out of his 6 innings with his highest score being 19.
“I’m not worried about myself to be honest. You know I’m getting starts which is very important. A couple of months ago (during the IPL), I wasn’t even getting starts at all so I’m very thankful, very happy to actually be getting starts. So, I’m not worried about myself in all honesty,” Pooran told members of the media during a press conference on Thursday.
The West Indies will play the final game of their T20 series against Australia tonight at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia. They will then move on to Barbados for a three-match ODI series.
In the end, the West Indies got to the line with quite a few deliveries to spare, in large part due to a steady 119 by opening batsman Shai Hope. Hope, however, also received plenty of support at the top of the order, including a 120-run partnership with Sharmarh Brooks for the first wicket.
Nkrumah Bonner didn’t add much to the total in the way o partnerships, after being dismissed without scoring and Pooran might also have done better after adding just 7. However, another strong partnership between Hope and Brandon King, who added 116 for the fourth wicket, saw the team well over the line. King added 58 for a maiden half-century.
“The way the batsmen went about it, the opening partnership of 100 plus, that was fantastic. That’s something we have been working on as a team, just trying to build partnerships,” Pooran said, following the match.
“Hope was excellent, as usual, Sharmarh Brooks got the opportunity to bat and grabbed it with both hands. Brandon King came and also did well in the end there, he didn’t leave it for anyone. Kudos to King and Hope for bringing the game home for us,” he added.
Shamarh Brooks (167 runs from three games), Shai Hope (161 runs from three games) and Brandon King (159 runs from three games) were all among the top five run-scorers in the series.
The Caribbean side comfortably chased targets in the first two games reaching 249-3 in the first game and 217-5 in the second game before posting 308-5 in the third contest and batting their full quota of overs in the process.
“Batting 50 overs was one of the goals we set before the series and we achieved that in the last game,” Pooran said in an interview on Sunday.
The Windies had three centurions in the series with Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks and Kyle Mayers all reaching three figures, something Pooran says is a good sign going forward.
“I think the batsmen are settling in nicely and taking their opportunity,” he said.
“It’s always important getting multiple batsmen scoring centuries. It’s very important for a team in terms of getting a big score or a score to actually defend. It shows that the batsmen are hungry for runs and willing to spend time in the middle to get those big runs,” Pooran added.
Pooran, who was on his first assignment as the West Indies official ODI skipper, said the inexperienced squad made the series triumph more special.
“I felt it was a really good one for us. It’s a new team and I felt like we bonded really well. We spoke about learning on the job and taking this opportunity,” he said.
Pooran and his team’s next assignment will be the three-ODI series against Pakistan in Multan on June 8, 10 and 12.
In recent times, however, Pooran has embraced a new role at the top of the innings. He recently explained how the roles differ.
“Massive difference. At three sometimes, if you come in in the powerplay, the ball is swinging, it's then just a matter of facing a couple balls and you basically have the freedom to execute your skills to maximize only two fielders being outside the circle,’” Pooran said in a recent interview with EspnCricinfo.
“Batting later and coming in the tenth or 15th over, it's about having that clarity in your execution, the skill and ability to perform in those different roles,” Pooran added.
He also emphasized the importance of being versatile as a T20 batsman.
“If you look around at international cricket, not many openers can finish an innings, so to me it's about being versatile and working on your skills to adapt. But it's definitely easier batting at the top of the innings than in the back end,” Pooran said.
In the West Indies' last T20 international series against India, Pooran scored three fifties in as many games batting at the number three slot.
He will hope to bring that versatility to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the Indian Premier League which gets underway on March 26th. Pooran’s Sunrisers open their tournament on March 29th against the Rajasthan Royals.
At Providence in Guyana, the West Indies white-ball captain hit five fours and five sixes in his match-winning 39-ball 74 while Mayers hit two fours and five sixes in his score of 55 made from just 38 balls.
The pair came together after the West Indies, needing 164 for victory, lost the wickets of Brandon King (7), Shamarh Brooks (12) and Odean Smith (2) by the seventh over with 43 runs on the board.
Together they added 83 in 51 balls before Mayers was dismissed by Nasum Ahmed, who had earlier had King caught at mid-on.
Pooran and Rovman Powell put on 25 for the fifth wicket but after facing only nine balls, the vice-captain was caught in the deep, off the bowling of Afif Hossein for five in the 18th over.
However, by then the West Indies needed only 11 runs to put a wrap on the series and the captain duly obliged. Two balls after Powell’s dismissal, Pooran smashed Afif for six and then smashed the second ball of the 19th bowled by Mahmudullah over the umpire’s head to bring an end to the match.
Ahmed took 2-44 while Mahedi Hasan, Shakib al Hasan and Afif each had one wicket.
Having won the toss and opting to bat, Bangladesh produced their best score of the series, 163-5.
Opener Litton Das scored 49 and Afif, an even 50, which helped the tourists to a competitive total. The pair shared in a third-wicket stand of 57 when Das was trapped lbw by Hayden Walsh Jr.
Afif found another useful partner in Mahmudullah and together they put on 49 for the fourth wicket and threatened to push the score beyond 170.
However, Bangladesh lost two wickets in the 19th over stalling their progress. Mahmudullah was out lbw to Walsh for 22 and then Afif was run out to leave the tourists on 150-5.
Mosaddek Hossain, who remained unbeaten on 10, carved out consecutive boundaries off Obed McCoy in the final over but ultimately it proved not to be enough.
Walsh was the best of the West Indies bowlers with 2-25. Romario Shepherd took 1-19 from two overs. Odean Smith continued to prove to be expensive conceding 34 runs from the three overs he bowled while claiming the wicket of opener Anamul Haque for 10.
Pooran, who scored 34 in the second T20, was also named Player of the Series.
After restricting India to 152-7 from their 20 overs, the West Indies scored 155-8 from 18.5 overs.
India won the toss and chose to take first strike but lost wickets early as Alzarri Joseph dismissed Shubman Gill for seven and Kyle Myers ran out Shuryakumar Yadav for one to have the tourists at 18-2 in the fourth over.
Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma added 42 for the third wicket before Kishan was bowled by Romario Shepherd for 27. Sanju Samson was next to go, dismissed by Akeal Hosein for seven. India were then 76-4.
Varma and Karthik Pandya built a 42-run partnership that was broken at 42 when Hosein picked up his second wicket when he had Varma caught by Obed McCoy for 51. Pandya carried on before he was bowled by Joseph for 24.
Axar Patel made 14 that helped India approach 150. However, any chance of India making much more ended when he was bowled by Shepherd. Ravi Bishnoi raced to eight from four and Arshdeep Singh, six from three as India’s innings closed at 152-7.
Shepherd and Joseph had identical figures of 2-28 while Akeal Hosein took 2-29.
Needing to score at just over 7.5 runs an over, the West Indies were in dire straits losing two wickets in the opening over.
Brandon King was dismissed by Panda first ball. Three balls later, Pandya removed Johnson Charles for two to leave the West Indies 2-3. Kyle Mayers was trapped lbw by Singh for 15 and the West Indies were looking at a collapse at 32-3 in the fourth over.
Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell fought back against the Indian attack partnering for 57 from 37 balls when Powell was caught at deep third man for 21 to give Pandya his third wicket of the match. Pooran continued to plunder the bowling while Shimron Hetmyer, who has replaced Powell, got his eye in.
Together, they took the West Indies to within 27 runs of their target. However, as is often the case with the West Indies, the game was turned on its head when Pooran was dismissed by Mukesh Kumar, caught at cover-point for 67 that included six fours and four sixes.
His dismissal triggered a collapse in which the West Indies lost four wickets for three runs in 13 balls. It was Yuzvendra’s Chahal’s third over, the 16th of the innings where things went pear-shaped for the West Indies. Shepherd was run out for nought off the first ball, he then had Holder stumped off his fourth and Hetmyer trapped lbw for 22 on the final ball.
It was left to Akeal Hosein, who ended unbeaten on 16 and Alzarri Joseph at the other end on 10, to see the West Indies to a nail-biting victory.
Pandya took 3-37 and Chahal 2-19 were the main bowlers for India.
