Challenger report: WE ARE INTO THE FINAL! Polly-Pooran epic show carries us through
By MI New York Media
“Not sure how we got to the finals but we are in the finals now. Stay calm and build the energy and keep believing,” captain Nicholas Pooran said at the end of play.
MI New York had one win in their first seven games. But in typical #OneFamily fashion, the team refused to throw in the towel. Tournaments are never about how you start, they are always about how you finish, and this team has been all about that. Building momentum at the right time, peaking when it matters, and now STORMING INTO THE FINAL!!
Young turks shine with the ball
Just the fact that Tristan Luus and Rushil Ugarkar shared five wickets among themselves, and were the only ones to pick up wickets, should tell you how well they’ve stepped up on the big stage. They had the TSK batters in a web in the powerplay, reducing them to 43/3 inside the powerplay. Faf du Plessis held fort for them with a fifty, and then Akeal Hosein and Donovan Ferreira had a good partnership at the death that carried them to 166/5.
Oh, Monank!
The man with nerves of steel! Quinton de Kock and Michael Bracewell fell early, but the revelation of the tournament, Monank Patel, held fort, at one stage outscoring Pooran as well. He steadied the ship, with five fours and two sixes, for a 39-ball 49, setting the platform for the chase perfectly..
Polly-Pooran, tried, tested, proven match-winners
MINY needed 87 off 46 balls when they got together. Pooran had not yet found his groove and was looking a tad scratchy, batting on 17 off 18 balls. But Kieron Pollard wasted no time in getting into the groove. He smacked the first ball he faced for a six down the ground, signaling his intentions. Some risk-free cricket took the equation to 50 off 24.
And then came the explosion. 6, 4, 4, 2, 6 off Zia-ul-Haq, and Polly did what he’s been doing against in the Blue and Gold the Super Kings over all these years in the El Clasico – winning matches from the dead. 4, 6 off Milne in the very next over, and Pooran joined the act as well. 23 runs came off the 17th over, 13 off the 18th and 19 off the 19th.
Game won with an over to spare. Final spot sealed.
“I think the intent was the key,” said Player of the Match, Pollard at the end of play. Boy, the intent was there for the world to see. He’s carried the team through for the zillionth time.
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“It’s a tough pill to swallow”
It’s never easy knowing 266 wasn’t enough on the day. A record 29 sixes were hit by MI New York – the most ever in a T20 innings. On nights like these when lightning strikes twice, you don’t fight the powers. You just accept it wasn’t out night.“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Mark Boucher at the post-match press conference. “I think this ground is very small. In the beginning stages of the tournament, the wickets weren’t as good as they are now. It made bowling extremely tough. The dew factor at the backend of the game made bowling extremely tough for the bowlers and the fielders. But in saying that, we had our chances. If we had taken those chances, we could have built a bit of pressure. We knew when we scored our total, on a pitch that is good and small boundaries, if there was one team that could chase this down, it was these guys.”MI New York’s MLC 2026 campaign might have come to an end, but it was eventful and certainly memorable. We gained momentum and peaked at the right time, with all parts of the puzzle seemingly falling in place. “The one area where we’ve struggled throughout the tournament has been our batting. We haven’t got any flow in our batting in the tournament. Coming into the game today, even though we lost the last game, I thought there was something going there. Nicky’s (Pooran) knock was fantastic. Quinny (de Kock) got us off to a good start as well. Polly coming in. We put on a really good score and our batters did really well. In the middle stages of the tournament, our bowlers really kept us in the tournament,” he said. Whether it was Kieron Pollard pulling out matches from the dead, something he’s done for the Blue and Gold for over 17 years now, or whether it was Tajinder Dhillon’s cameos, or Rushil Ugarkar’s large-hearted bowling, Quinton de Kock’s typically Quinny-like starts, or a record-breaking final flourish, there certainly has been enough for us to celebrate. Let’s give it some time. When the disappointment withers, what will remain is pride, the pride we have in this side. This is MI city, this is MI team, we are MI New York. 17 Jul, 2026Celebrating a 106(33), that is enough on most days…
…Sadly, this wasn’t one of those. But when the dust settles and the disappointment of seeing a massive total being overhauled dies down, we’ll the pride in this MONSTER NICHOLAS POORAN knock. He loves these knockout games in the MLC, doesn’t he! Against the Washington Freedom in the Eliminator, he wasted no time settling in. The first ball was a single. Ball 2: SIXBall 3: SIXBall 4: SIXBall 5: FOURThis was followed by another 6, 4, 0, 6, 6, 6 to bring up his fifty off just 14 balls. None of them were mishits in any sense. Reading the bowling to perfection, he was happy to step out and go over long-off, pull away the short stuff, tonk them down the ground, cut them through point. Just peak, beast mode. He wasn’t backing down. Against Nikhil Chaudhary’s off-spin, he kept the fifth gear going. 6, 4, 1, 0, 4, 6, 4, 6 across two overs, and he had the fastest MLC century, off just 31 balls. He fell immediately after. All this inside the 12th over. Sheer madness was on display. Again, it might get forgotten given what happened in the second innings and how Washington chased down a mammoth total, but it was a knock for the ages nevertheless. Nicky P has added another feather that sits alongside his iconic 137* from 2023!16 Jul, 2026The Eliminator report: Crazy game, but ends in heartbreak :(
266 runs chased down. 51 sixes hit in the game. It’s probably a once in a lifetime moment, and the partnership of 241 runs in just 89 balls between Steven Smith and Andries Gous was again one of those, seen now, might never be seen again moments. Alas, it came against us in the Eliminator. A crazy game, but on the wrong side of the result.. Nicholas Pooran: 106 (33)“It wasn’t meant to be,” our skipper said at the post-match presentation. But his knock deserves all the appreciation. Five fours, 13 sixes, and a century off just 31 balls. It was peak Nicky P. Beast Nicky P. He was just unstoppable, smashing everything around for fun. Imagine a 24-ball 51 by Quinton de Kock felt like second fiddle! And then Polly goes wild!Pooran came, smashed, and was done by the 12th over. Kieron Pollard took it upon himself to carry the baton forward. With a 25-ball 64, he kept the shots coming, the sixes flowing, and ensured MINY finished strong. The final 266/9 came via Trent Boult and his 10-ball 22. That Smith-Gous stand On most days, a target of 267 is daunting enough. But lightning struck twice, first in the form of Pooran’s brilliant century, and then with Gous’ 51-ball 132 and Smith’s 48-ball 110. They rode their luck, but it just felt written in the stars. Ruing the missed chances 9.4: Smith gets a life 10.1: Smith gets put down again 10.6: Now Gous is dropped11.5: Both the bowler and the keeper miss a run-out chance In 13 balls, with four chances gone down, the signs were clear. It simply wasn’t our day. The batters then switched gears and went on a rampage, with 29 runs coming off the 13th over, 21 off the 14th and 31 off the 15th, virtually killing the game. This is where it ends. 2026 wasn’t to be. It’s a tough one to swallow. But once the dust settles, we’ll look back at how heartwarming this season has been with new heroes stepping up, older ones turning back the clock, and wins pulled off from nowhere. 15 Jul, 2026
