In the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 final held at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Sunday, Nicholas Pooran, the stand-in captain of MI New York, displayed an aggressive performance, scoring a remarkable 40-ball century against the Seattle Orcas.
MI New York was chasing a target of 184 runs for the inaugural MLC title, and Pooran came in to bat at number three after opener Steven Taylor was dismissed for a three-ball duck.
Impressively, Pooran wasted no time and achieved a 16-ball half-century, going all-out against the bowlers with powerful sixes.
His outstanding performance also earned him the distinction of becoming the second player to score a century in the tournament. By the end of his innings, Pooran remained unbeaten at 137 runs off just 55 deliveries, hitting an astounding 13 sixes and 10 fours, securing the second-highest score by a captain batting second in T20 matches.
Nicholas Pooran assumed the leadership responsibilities for the team during the tournament due to an injury to Kieron Pollard. Despite the added responsibility, Pooran showcased exceptional batting skills and led the team to a memorable performance in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 final.
With this, now the MI franchise has won a T20 league outside of the IPL as well after earlier MI Cape Town and MI Emirates failed to win their respective SA20 League or the International League T20 (ILT20).
Mumbai Indians is a five champions in the IPL and now the MI New York have won the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket. Let’s take a look at the list of award winners and prize money in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023. (Note: Prize Money have not been mentioned, we will update as and when we have more information.)
Best Domestic Player of the Tournament
The best domestic player of the tournament award went to the Seattle Orcas pacer Cameron Gannon. The Australia born USA cricketer played 7 matches and took 11 wickets.
Most Wicket-taker of the tournament
The leading wicket-taker of the tournament award went to the champion team MI New York pacer Trent Boult. The Kiwi pacer picked-up a total of 22 wickets as part of this campaign.
Most Run Scorer of the Tournament
As for the most run scorer of the tournament, it went to none other than the star of the final and the stand-in captain of the MI New York, Nicholas Pooran, who scored a total of 388 runs, way high of the 2nd placed man Heinrich Klaasen.
Most Valuable Player
Also the most valuable player of the tournament went to the star of the final show, Nicholas Pooran, who scored and remained not out 137 runs in 55 balls. He batted with brilliant striker rate for whole of the tournament and deservedly won the award.
Runners-up
The runners-up of the tournament were Seattle Orcas. They finished the tournament at the top of the points table winning 4 of the 5 matches they played. They beat Texas Super Kings in the qualifier 1 to directly qualify for the MLC 2023 Final.
Champions
MI New York are inaugural champions of the Major League Cricket. Despite finishing only 4 in the league table, they beat Washington Freedom in the Eliminator and then Texas Super Kings in the Qualifier 2 to book their slot for the final.
