Nicholas Pooran hits unbeaten century as MI New York beat Seattle Orcas in inaugural MLC final

A stunning unbeaten century from Nicholas Pooran helped MI New York beat the Seattle Orcas to win the inaugural edition of Major League Cricket.

New York won the toss and put the Orcas into bat. Wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock top-scored with a brisk 87 off 52 balls but he was unable to find a partner to stay with him.

New York star bowlers Trent Boult and Rashid Khan took three wickets apiece from their four overs, with the latter tightening the screw with 19 dot balls.

It left Seattle on 183-9 off their 20 overs and although the Orcas got off to a lightening start, with Imad Wasim bowling Steven Taylor for a duck in the first over, their opponents made light work of the target.

Pooran, who enjoyed a resurgent IPL and deputised for Kieron Pollard as the NY captain in the final, smashed 10 fours and 13 sixes as his 137 came off just 55 balls.

"I told myself that I just needed to bat like Nicky P and not think about batting like the captain," said Pooran after the match.

"I just backed my skills. The platform was there today and the opportunity was there. I had to be brave and it worked for me."

Pooran's massive century saw him beat De Kock as the top-scorer in the tournament with a mammoth 388 runs, ahead of the South African's tally of 264.

And New York took the top wicket taker award as well with Boult finishing with 22, twice as many as Cameron Gannon and Andrew Tye (both Seattle).

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