Nicholas Pooran: Winning for the team is all that matters

Former West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran reminded all of his undoubted class versus South Africa in the first of three T20 Internationals at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on August 23, hitting an unbeaten 65 off 26 balls to help the hosts to a facile seven-wicket win in pursuit of a 175-run target.

After openers Alick Athanaze (40) and Shai Hope (51) put on 84 for the first wicket, Pooran put on 54 for the second wicket with Hope to help the Windies eclipse the target with 13 balls to spare.

Pooran struck seven sixes and two fours in his knock and received the Man of the Match award. The leading run-scorer for the Windies in the T20 format, Pooran will be aiming to lead from the front again when the hosts take on South Africa from 3 pm on August 25 in the second T20.

Though the 28-year-old left-hander is seen as the premier batsman in the West Indies lineup, he says he isn't driven by the personal accolades, as team success remains the ultimate goal.

"For me, it's not about how I get the runs. Once we win the games and being not out there at the end as well (is a bonus)," Pooran said after the first T20 on August 23. "For me, I'm just happy to contribute and get that win."

The hosts needed 91 off 72 balls when Pooran joined Hope in the middle after Athanaze's dismissal at the end of the eighth over.

And if the result of the game was in doubt, Pooran put all anxiety and uncertainty to bed in the 12th over when he smashed left-arm pacer Nandre Burger for four consecutive sixes – treating the modest Tarouba crowd to a quality display of destructive hitting.

Pooran eventually brought up his 13th T20 international fifty off 20 balls, and the desire to perform before his home crowd remains a strong driving factor behind his game.

"It was nice to see the fans coming out and supporting us. In Trinidad, the fans always support us," Pooran said.

"Personally, I love to play in front of my home crowd. It gives me that extra motivation to go out and play for them."

In the first half of the game, the regional team seemed to have South Africa on the ropes as the visitors were placed on 33 for three after the power play and later slipped to 42 for five by the end of the eighth over when Donovan Ferreira was dismissed by Akeal Hosein.

Pacers Matthew Forde (three for 27) and Shamar Joseph (two for 40) were responsible for the early inroads – accounting for four of the first five wickets.

South Africa got a brilliant recovery partnership of 71 between Tristan Stubbs and Patrick Kruger, with the former thumping 76 off 42 balls as he helped the visitors to a healthy 174 for seven.

Pooran credited South Africa for their fightback and he also acknowledged the West Indies' T20 team was just getting back into their groove after being ousted by the Proteas at the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup in June.

"It's international cricket. I felt like we bowled really well in the power play and the first ten overs. Tristan Stubbs and Kruger batted really well," he said.

"We as bowlers need to put our hands up and say we weren't good enough on the day. Having said that, (South Africa) batted really well.

"We haven't played in a while and it's nice to get back as a unit...hopefully, on (August 25) we could correct those boxes."

With the bat, the Windies definitely left nothing to chance and ticked most of the boxes, as the top order of Athanaze, Hope and Pooran made light work of the target.

Pooran said the game plan was clear.

"(Coach Daren) Sammy was really precise. He broke the game down and told us exactly how he wanted us to go about it. The guys put their hands up and got the job done."

In the second T20, the Windies will aim to seal their second series win over the Proteas in the space of three months after getting a 3-0 series sweep over their counterparts in the build-up to the June 1-29 T20 World Cup.