Fans react as Nicholas Pooran bowls West Indies to victory over South Africa in 1st T20I

In a roaring display of batting intensity, i The West Indies managed to win by seven wickets South Africa in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Brian Lara Stadium. The hosts’ victory was fueled by a strong innings from the get-go Nicholas Pooranwho showed off his devastating hitting skills to seal the deal.

Tristan Stubbs’ heroics go in vain

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, South Africa posted a competitive total of 174/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Tristan Stubbs he top scored with 42 balls of 76, laced with 8 fours and 3 sixes, rescuing the visitors from a difficult position at 42/5. However, the West Indies bowlers, led by Matthew Forde (3/27) and Akeal Hosein (2/22), caught South African batsmen in most innings.

MORE: WATCH: Nicholas Pooran launches 113-foot six-foot superyacht out of park at The Hundred 2024

Nicholas Pooran’s blitzkrieg ensures a big win

In reply, West Indies open Alick Athanaze (40) and Shai Hope (51) provided a strong start, adding 84 runs for the first wicket. However, the introduction of spin from the South African bowlers reduced the run rate, and the hosts found themselves at 138/3 in the 14th over. Enter Pooran, who took the onslaught from the bowlers, hitting 7 fours and 2 sixes in his unbeaten 65 off just 26 balls. His attack, and a consistent 7 off the captain’s 15 balls Rovman Powellhe helped West Indies chase down the target with 13 balls to spare.

Kwena Maphaka makes history as the youngest player ever

South Africa’s woes were compounded by the absence of their ace pacer Good luckwho was taken out of the series due to calf strain. The visitors gave the 18-year-old a debut You are the catswho became the youngest player to represent South Africa in a T20I tournament. Maphaka got the wicket of Powell in his 3.5 overs, but it was not enough to prevent a West Indies victory.

Pooran identified the Player of the Match

For his match-winning knock, Pooran was adjudged Man of the Match. The left-hander’s batting showed his great batting ability and ability to turn the game on its head in the matter of overs. The two teams will now head to the all-important second T20I match on Sunday, August 25, at the same venue with West Indies leading 1-0.

Here’s how fans reacted:

Kwena Maphaka becomes the youngest player to debut in South Africa (18 years and 137 days) 🙌🏏#cricket #WIvSA #KwenaMapaka #southafricacricket #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/1MQ5bhKdNO

– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) August 24, 2024

42/5 to 176/7

23(21) to 76(42)
Stubbs Nation Where r we!!! We got an innings underpressure 🤩🤩🤩🥵🥵🥵🥵#WIvsSA pic.twitter.com/0qbPK2vEUx

— SM⁶³ (@LongOff_____) August 24, 2024

Easy win for West Indies in the first game. #WIvsSA #SAvsWI pic.twitter.com/Kovec5ndPp

— Muhammad Irfan 🇦🇺 (@IrfiLuck) August 23, 2024

7️⃣ Dimensions, 2️⃣ Four 💪🏾

Four 6️⃣ in a row for one over 🔥

An unbelievable performance from Nicholas Pooran#WIvSA #T20Fest #MaroonMen pic.twitter.com/QGlh5f6RwZ

– Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 23, 2024

Nicholas Pooran is in brutal mode!🔥😤 #WIvSA

Over 12 :- 0 , 1 , 6 , 6 , 6 , 6 pic.twitter.com/TsUTewm0ml

— JD CriCo (@Gaurav_05Kumar) August 24, 2024

Baffing #WestIndies or maybe that is not even a word as we are used to their white ball, Demo Ubushakaxaka. A good victory. Important win. Kudos to Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran. Strong knocking

But keep the thought #TristanStubbs # Windows #Proteas pic.twitter.com/rOJqZK35oF

– Cricket Chronicle (@caughtatpoint17) August 24, 2024

Want to dominate the tricky chase? Call Nicholas Pooran 📞 #WIvSA #NICHOLAS #NicholasPooran pic.twitter.com/E2Yjsjgo6a

— Hamza Chaudhary (@Its_HamzaAshfaq) August 24, 2024

The biggest monster of T20 cricket 💀
65* 26 2 7 against RSA in 1st T20Is
Nicholas Pooran @nicholas_47 ❤️🔥#WIvRSA pic.twitter.com/7Udj65FNA9

— 𝐀𝐧𝐦𝐨𝐥 (@anmolr14) August 23, 2024

Nicholas Pooran – Special talent, played a brilliant 67 off 26 deliveries with 2 fours and 7 top fours and won the westindy match #RSAVSWI pic.twitter.com/SprNVXa90Y

– Rajeev Ranjan (@CenaHrithik) August 23, 2024

Nicholas Pooran is one of the most talented cricketers to come out of the Caribbean.

— Philasande Sixaba (@psixaba) August 23, 2024

Power. Anger. Muscles.

West Indies take a 1-0 series lead in true West Indian style 🔥

Controlled anger!

4th T20I half century! Of #Nicholaspooran#WIvSA #T20Fest

| #WIvSA#WIvSA pic.twitter.com/RaZT7zHS15

– Ravi Soni (@Ravisonime) August 23, 2024

UPDATE: Here are the updated rankings for WTC 2023-25 ​​after South Africa’s win over West Indies in Guyana Test