“A similar journey in the first season too, it’s about peaking at the right time”: Pooran
By MI New York Media
Nicholas Pooran knows a thing or two about winning championships. It was his epic 137* that saw MI New York lift the Cognizant MLC title in 2023. He’s back in familiar territory, and he’s on a mission to bring home another piece of silverware. Excerpts from his pre-match press conference..
On MI New York making it to the final
It’s definitely been an interesting journey. Qualifying with three wins has been a challenge but T20 cricket is all about peaking at the right time. For a group, we are very optimistic of our chances. We knew if we qualified, it was a different tournament for us. We are just gathering momentum at the right time.
On the team never giving up hope
It’s just something about the franchise. We expect to win every competition and game. It’s a tough place to be in. There is a lot of pressure. But in the dressing room that belief matters. When everyone is going through with the right energy, anything is possible. Like we saw in the first year, we had a similar journey in the MLC. A lot of players don’t have that experience but thankfully we have a lot of guys in the dressing room who have knowledge as well. We share that energy. Obviously in the big moments, the senior players rise to the occasion as well. It is most important for any team.
On playing cricket in the USA
For me it’s just the environment, it is refreshing. My family is out here as well. It is a nice vacation for them as well. They support me and have a good time. Because cricket is happening here in the US, it is closer to the Caribbean. They try to enjoy the sport. The tournament went to Miami as well this year and with the support it felt like home. It is closer to home for me, so loving the opportunity.
The bond he shares with Kieron Pollard
Yeah he’s been my mentor. We share conversations everyday about cricket on how to get better. But the journey this year was one of the toughest challenges we had. We lost some players early in the tournament and some players didn’t turn up. It’s been difficult. It’s one that came down to doing your job as a batsman first and then figuring out on how to win games. It was a challenge to get everyone playing together. It’s a tough experience. You have to kind of manage all these emotions, the highs and lows, the expectations of the local players as well. One thing we continue speaking about is, ‘let’s continue to do our job’. This is for everyone, from the coaching staffs to the players. When we look back that is what we did. The coach managed that really well. It’s been challenging. It’s not a nice place to be in when you are losing games. He did a really nice job in managing everyone.
Where the campaign turned around for MINY
The moment for us was Trent Boult’s innings. Credit must be given to him, he gave us a chance in this tournament.
On the local USA players stepping up
The scouts have done exceptionally well in identifying talent. Monank has been there since the beginning. In the first two years, he didn’t get the returns he wanted but this year, he has been our standout performer throughout the tournament. His leadership as well. He is the captain of the USA team. He speaks the language of the locals. You can lean on him to get through to the other guys. As overseas players, our responsibility is to share our knowledge and experience. We have some banter at the back of the bus with the local players when they messed up, just to make a joke about it. The coach always says, ‘people in China don’t care whether e win or lose’. We are going to wake up tomorrow and see another day and play another game of cricket. It’s okay to make mistakes, you just don’t want to make it often. It’s our job to have these players grow as well. It’s nice to see the local players getting the opportunity and having an impact as well. It is only going to help USA cricket. You saw in the World Cup as well when they pull off some upsets. Really good to see the franchise giving these players the responsibility and the opportunity.
On Rushil Ugarkar coming to the party
Rushil has been with us for a few years and it is really nice to see how he has grown. He didn’t start off in the tournament but it is nice to see that you can call someone on the bench. Big kudos to him. He is definitely going in the right direction, not just for us but for himself and for USA cricket. If he pays attention to detail, he’ll become better. He wants to bowl in the tough situations. We have to support him and try to get him better.
On what he sees as personal success in this tournament
For me it’s not about being a captain, it’s about being a leader. I love seeing other people succeed. I want to play a role, whether that is a supporting role or sharing some advice, I want to see people doing well. It is important for me to be a good human being as well. These guys come from different backgrounds. If I can help in any way I can, I would love to. It is really nice to see these guys take in some advice. I try my best, be the best version of myself. If it means putting a smile on someone’s face, I do so.
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“The best in our batting is yet come to come”: Nicholas Pooran
Two wins in three games from the LA leg. On some tough batting wickets, MI New York showed a lot of fight and character. As we head back to Dallas for the last three league games with a mission to qualify for the playoffs, skipper, Nicholas Pooran believes the peak is still to come.“The next week is going to be really important, with the final three games in Dallas. This week was really important for us and we're leaving LA with two wins from three games. As a captain, we're really happy and we'll continue to build,” he said on the back of the loss to San Francisco Unicorns. “Our batting has been improving, we'll keep fighting, and I believe the best is yet to come.”One of the bright spots in the game was Tristan Luus, whose late contribution with the bat (12) and a 2/21 with the ball kept MINY in the hunt. At the post-match press conference, he spoke about bouncing back from such games. “I think there is a lot of teams that have bad games and bad days. It’s all about the bounce back. We have a good team and we are still in a good position in this tournament. We just need to regroup, have a good conversation about this game and then from there basically don’t try to think about this game.”There’s an instant redemption on offer as both these teams clash once again in Texas in two days. With just two points separating the top-ranked and the bottom-ranked team on the table, this sure is heating up! 07 Jul, 2026SFUvMINY report: Arghhh, not quite the perfect end to the LA leg :(
It wasn’t our day. On the wrong side of the toss and put in to bat when the pitch was sticky, the MI New York batters just couldn’t get going. Undone by some sharp bowling, it was a late effort from the tail that got us past 100, and then our seamers tried hard too, but with the ball skidding on under lights and the advantage of chasing a smallish target, it wasn’t to be. Pooran tries infusing momentum, but MINY wobbleEvery match, we’ve had someone step up, play the anchor, and bat through. It looked like Nicholas Pooran would be that guy tonight, looking good with four fours in his 19-ball 20, as the rest of the top-order fell around him. But he too fell in the seventh over. It wasn’t a day for Kieron Pollard’s heroics either as the team collapse to 65/7 in the 15th over. Bosch, Luus and a late-order resurgence Corbin Bosch: 22(21)Tristan Luus: 12(14)And thanks to this 30-run stand for the eighth wicket to get the team up to 104, MINY had something to play around with. A sliver of hope. What a debut, Faisal! Debuts just don’t get any sweeter. Opening the bowling, off the first legal ball of his career, he cleaned up the dangerous Lhuan-dre Pretorius. And then followed up next over with a sharp bouncer that got big on Finn Allen, who could only miscue it as far as mid-on. With Tristan Luus and Tajinder Dhillon chipping in, at 66/4, there was slight hope of a special Blue and Gold defence, but alas, Matthew Short and Sanjay Krishnamurthi kept going and saw the Unicorns home. Chip up Fam, we’ve played some special cricket over the last three games to sustain the kind of run we did. As we head back to Texas for our final league leg with the playoffs berth beckoning, this is the time to not lose steam. We have an instant opportunity with the reverse fixture coming up in the very next game to set things right.. 06 Jul, 2026LAKRvMINY report: 2014 to 2026 – Polly and Corey winning it for the Blue and Gold!
One of the lasting memories from the 2014 IPL seasons was that of Kieron Pollard and Corey Anderson playing blinders and pulling Mumbai Indians through past the finish line in matches that seemed dead and buried. Tonight, 12 years later, they’ve rolled back the clock to pull off a similar heist at the MLC. The partnership: 88 runs | 48 balls……and a mastery in calculating this chase and taking it deep. At 80/4 in the 12th over, things looked dicey. The target of 166 was still some distance away and the asking rate was touching 11s. Pollard started aggressively. Corey responded with a six and a four off Jason Holder in the next over, before playing out Sunil Narine out in the 15th over. The requirement: 62 runs in five overs.Over #16: 11 runs Over #17: 19 runs Over #18: 13 runs Over #19: 10 runs And just like that, nine runs were needed off the final over, and through a massive tonk over long-on, Anderson sealed the deal in style. Kieron Pollard, a gift that keep giving 63 runs | 35 balls | 6 fours | 2 sixes. He just doesn’t get tired, does he! Churning out another legend-class, adding a feather to an already-decorated hat, KP did KP things. Tonight, he took the attack to the opposition immediately, toyed around with the equation, the bowling, and made sure he pulled off another of his iconic chases. Bosch-Ugarkar set it upWith three wickets apiece, MINY’s pace bowling duo made sure the LAKR batters never got off the hooks, chipping away with regular wickets. On a pitch that has progressively gotten better for batting over the last three days, 165 was a total we’d have taken at the start. WWWhoaaa!!!! Three wins on the trot. Table-toppers. Peak MI New York have touched down!! 05 Jul, 2026
