Pooran Madness crowns MI New York as first Major League Cricket Champions 

Weather was over 100 degrees in Dallas on Sunday, but it was Nicholas Pooran’s batting that raised the temperature at Grand Prairie Stadium as MI New York beat Seattle Orcas to claim the inaugural title of Major League Cricket. 

In front of a buzzing full-house mostly painted in blue, the New York captain led from the front scoring an unbeaten 137 off just 55 deliveries steering his team single handedly to chase the 184-run target with four overs to spare. 

“I am still at the loss of words,” said Pooran in the post-match press conference on Sunday. “This is probably my best T20 innings ever and I am just happy that I could be there at the end. It is a special moment for me and my family.”

The batsman set the record for scoring the fastest century in MLC by reaching the milestone off just 40 balls which is also the fastest by any batsman scored in any T20 franchise league’s final in the world. 

“Pooran was amazing, he was hitting the ball all left, right and center,” said Mohsin Barderkar, a MI New York fan after the match ended. “Everywhere he was clicking, it was going over the roof, whatever was in his arc; was going over the park. We loved it.”

Nita Ambani, owner of the New York team and all other MI franchises, was also present at the stadium and watching the match in her signature style from the players’ dugout. Barderkar said that New York won because of Ambani, calling her team’s “lucky charm.” 

“When we were entering the stadium, we saw the MI NY owner and thought man if she is here, we are getting the trophy,” the 52-year-old added.   

Batting first after losing the toss, Orcas put on 183 on board. Quinton de Kock was the highest scorer for his team with 87 runs to his name while for New York, both Trent Boult and Rashid Khan got three wickets each. 

That seemed like a decent total before the Pooran madness befell the Orcas bowlers, giving them no break as the batsman smashed thirteen sixes and ten fours in his match-winning innings.

“Our captain here this afternoon was brilliant with that knock, and I don’t think you will see a much better ending there anywhere in the world,” said MI fast bowler Trent Boult. 

The left-arm pacer with twenty-two wickets was the highest wicket-taker of the tournament while his captain Pooran was the top run-scorer with 388 runs to his name. 

“It is obviously nice to contribute,” Boult said. “Personally, from a bowling point of view I thought this was the best surface we came up on inside the couple of weeks; it was a true surface really.”  

Meanwhile when the losing captain was asked if toss and playing under lights had played a role in New York’s victory, Wayne Parnell said that it was Pooran’s innings that made the difference.

“Nicholas played a remarkable innings, so I think we have to give credit where credit is due,” Parnell said in the post-match conference. “In T20 cricket whenever someone plays a knock like that more often than not his team will win.” 

Orcas had the most successful run in the tournament being table toppers with four wins in the first round and then becoming the first team to qualify for the final after beating Texas Super Kings in Qualifier One on Thursday. 

“The process we were on last couple of weeks was trying to create some sort of culture within the squad and obviously that translates onto how we played out,” Parnell said. 

While New York only had two victories before entering the play-offs, they built a great momentum during the knock-out games defeating Washington Freedom in Eliminator One on Thursday and Super Kings in Eliminator Two the next day. 

Major League Cricket ready for play-offs following exciting week in North Carolina 

The picturesque town of Morrisville boomed with the exhilarating cheers of cricket enthusiasts as it hosted the action-filled week two of Major League Cricket (MLC) at Church Street Park. 

Seattle Orcas, Washington Freedom, Texas Super Kings, and MI New York secured the top four spots at the end of the league matches’ stage. The four teams will now head back to Dallas to participate in the play-offs at Grand Prairie Stadium.  

Seven matches were played in the small town in northeast North Carolina in which the stakes were high as teams fought to secure their positions on the points table. The final game was quite the spectacle for fans as Heinrich Klaasen became the first player in the tournament’s history to score a century. 

The Orcas’ batsman led his team to a massive 195-run chase with two wickets to spare, ensuring his team maintains their position on top of the table. 

“This team has done incredibly over the last five games,” Klaasen said in the post-match conference on Tuesday. “Tonight was just my night. For me it is winning games for the team and for getting the team over the line so I’m very pleased.” 

Klaasen scored an unbeaten 110 off just 44 deliveries including three major sixes in an over against the leg-spinner Rashid Khan. Orcas leads the points table with four victories while Super Kings and Freedom are placed at number two and three respectively with three wins each. 

New York with just two wins, barely qualified for the next round due to a better net run rate. 

Following the successful show in North Carolina, MCL has moved back to Dallas for its play-offs starting this Thursday with a double-header at Grand Prairie Stadium. 

A qualifier between Orcas and Super Kings will decide the first finalist of the tournament. The loser will then play the winner of the Eliminator one between New York and Washington for a spot in the final game which is scheduled to take place on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, San Francisco Unicorns and LA Knights Riders failed to qualify for the next round. While it took Knight Riders their last game to register their first victory, Unicorns were placed on number three when they arrived in Morrisville. 

“We wanted to maintain the momentum that we had, we were right in front of the game there but unfortunately we lost our way for a few different reasons,” Shane Watson, Unicorns’ coach, said after their loss to Super Kings on Monday. 

Texas chased the 172-run target with five balls to spare, courtesy Daniel Sams’ exhilarating unbeaten knock of 18-ball 42. 

While Super Kings were not playing at home this time, the team still managed to paint the ground all yellow with its supporters. People in huge numbers showed up wearing the Texas jersey and the classic yellow hats, waving franchise flags, and whistling throughout the game.

“I’m supporting TSK,” Vihaan Dongre, a 13-year-old kid said enthusiastically as the team continued their chase against the Unicorns on Monday. 

“They have a lot of big names like Faf, Devon Conway,” he added. Vihaan plays cricket for a u-13 team, TCL Sluggers, in Triangular Cricket League (TCL) in Morrisville. 

TCL, the biggest cricket entity in North Carolina, is a non-profit organization based in triangle region of the state encompassing Raleigh, Durham and Cary. The body aims to play and promote the game of cricket in the region among both adults and youth. 

Vihaan said he’s been to the venue before to support his home team Morrisville Raptors in Minor League Cricket. Despite being the only co-hosts of the event along with Grand Prairie in Dallas, Morrisville does not have a team representing them in the ongoing T20 tournament. 

The teenager said that while he’s upset his town does not have a team in the MCL, the fact that they’re hosting the games makes up for it. 

“I didn’t expect it, it was really surprising,” he said. “It (Morrisville) is just a small town, so we don’t see big names often and for them to come here is really exciting. It’ll inspire more people to watch cricket, play cricket and hopefully the game will develop here in US.” 

Cricket fever hits Texas as Major League Cricket tops off first week

Cricket fever hit Texas as Major League Cricket (MLC) kicked off its inaugural season in a week filled with exciting matches, electrifying performances, and overwhelming response from fans. 

The 7200-seated newly transformed Grand Prairie Stadium was jam-packed shining bright in yellow not once but twice as hosts Texas Super Kings took on Los Angeles Knight Riders and MI New York in the opening week of the tournament. 

“We are really excited that cricket has come here to Texas,” said Jisha Patel, 40, CRNA from Coppell, who had come to Grand Prairie to watch the match with her family on Monday. 

Jisha, dressed in an all-yellow long shirt, was supporting the home team Texas against the rival-franchise MI New York in the second sold-out game of the league. “The atmosphere, the ground, the stadium, it’s great,” she said. 

“It’s really entertaining and good to see all these international players here. It reminds us of our days in India when we used to watch cricket there.” 

The success of the opening night sparked considerable interest from the major broadcasting channel CBS Sports Network as the outlet announced to air three live matches of MLC this season on its platform the next day to bring cricket closer to American households. 

Many international cricket stars were seen in action during the first eight matches played in the Lone Star State including Rashid Khan, Faf du Plessis, Aaron Finch, Shadab Khan, Andre Russell, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. 

“Major League Cricket showcases the very best players from the world’s second most popular sport playing right here in America,” said Vijay Srinivasan, co-founder of MLC, in a press release on Friday.

“Billions of fans worldwide love this sport and we’re delighted to bring adrenaline-packed matches taking place this July in front of sold-out crowds in Texas and North Carolina.”

The teams will head towards the Old North State to play the next seven matches of the first round at Church Street Park in Morrisville. 

The Texas Super Kings are leading the points table with two victories in their last three matches followed by Seattle Orcas and San Francisco Unicorns on number two and three spots. MI New York and Washington Freedom are placed on number four and five with one win each while LA Knight Riders are on the bottom with zero victories. 

“There has been so much work put into this taking place,” said Corey Anderson, who plays an all-rounder for San Francisco Unicorns, in the post-match conference on Friday. “It is tough to not get emotional about it because it is what you’ve been building towards for the last few years.”

Anderson is a former international cricketer from New Zealand who migrated to the United States in 2020 for family reasons and with an intention to play for the national team and grow cricket in the country. “To see a product like that with the American flag waving, it is the perfect product for what we want America to try and fall in love with,” he added. 

While international cricketing icons added their star power to the tournament, the first week also saw the emergence of several talented local players. Anderson, who is participating in the league as a local player, is the top run sorcerer after the first eight matches with 142 runs to his name while Mohammad Mohsin from TSK with seven wickets is the leading wicket-taker so far.  

As MLC ends the opening week with flying colors, expectations for the rest of the season are at an all-time high. With many matches to come and promise of an enthralling play-off stage, the tournament seems confident for a successful debut season.