Mitchell Marsh had the best seat in the house at the non-striker’s end as he watched Nicholas Pooran smash the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowlers to all parts of the ground during Lucknow Super Giants‘ (LSG) five-wicket win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Expressing relief that he doesn’t have to bowl to the West Indian big-hitter, the Australian all-rounder termed Pooran’s skills as “fascinating”.
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The duo added 116 runs for the second wicket, as Pooran was dismissed for 70 off just 26 balls, including 6 sixes and 6 fours, which ended the partnership as LSG chased down the target of 191 with 3.5 overs to spare. Marsh scored 52 off 31 balls.
“The only word I have for it is ‘fascinating’. I’ve played against Nicky for a long time, and usually I’ve been on the receiving end of such innings,” Marsh said at the post-match press conference in Hyderabad.
“Being on the same team, I feel a great connection with him as a bloke and as someone who I’m going to hopefully bat with a lot.”
Both the batters had scored half-centuries in the team’s season-opener against Delhi Capitals as well but lost the thriller by just one wicket.
“There wasn’t much chat, to be honest. When someone’s in the zone like he was, you just try to build a partnership and keep going. He was almost unstoppable tonight,” said Marsh.
“No matter who you play, you need to execute well across 40 overs to win in the IPL. We felt chasing was the right approach on this pitch, and it worked out well for us.”
However, it was LSG all-rounder Shardul Thakur who was picked as the ‘Player of The Match’ for his four wickets and Marsh praised the effort that restricted the opposition to below 200.
“Shardul was outstanding,” said the Australian. “He set the tone right away and showed his experience, especially when Travis and Abhishek were putting us under pressure. It was a well-rounded performance from us.”
“I’m really proud of how our bowling unit stepped up today. We executed our plans well. Five years ago, if a team scored 190, you wouldn’t say you bowled brilliantly.
“But that’s how the game has evolved. I do hope we see a 300-run total in the IPL this season – just not against us,” Marsh concluded.
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