Nicholas Pooran best T20 batter out now? Caribbean southpaw smashes Rizwan's world record

West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran made history on Friday, breaking Pakistan's Mohammed Rizwan's world record for most runs in T20s in a calendar year. The southpaw accomplished this historic high in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024 game for his side Trinbago Knight Riders against Barbados Royals.

In the game, Pooran continued his fine form in the league and T20s this year with a short, but an impactful 15-ball cameo of 27 runs, consisting of four boundaries and a six. His runs came at a strike rate of 180.00. This knock, along with fine scores from skipper Kieron Pollard (42 in 27 balls), Keacy Carty (32 in 34 balls) and Andre Russell (31 in 12 balls), took the team to 175/7, which they defended successfully by restricting Barbados to 145/9 despite fine knocks from Alick Athanaze (44 in 33 balls) and David Miller (30 in 15 balls).

Pooran is the leading run-getter in T20s this year, with 2,059 runs in 66 matches and 65 innings at an average of 42.02, with a strike rate of 160.85 and best score of 98. He has scored 14 half-centuries this year. He has smacked 139 fours and 152 this year.

In CPL 2024, Pooran has scored 312 runs in nine innings at an average of 39.00, with a strike rate of 175.28 and best score of 97. He has two half-centuries in the competition and is the fourth-highest run-getter. Rizwan's record was scoring 2,036 runs in 48 T20s back in 2021 at an average of 56.60 and a strike rate of over 132, with a century and 18 fifties. His best score was 104*.

Pooran has displayed some incredible batting form in major T20 leagues and competition this year. Some of his notable performances came in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, in which he scored 499 runs at an average of 62.37, with three fifties and strike rate of 178.21, with his best score being 75. He finished as the eight-highest run-getter.

In the T20 World Cup held at USA and West Indies, Pooran was the sixth-highest run-maker with 228 runs in seven innings at an average of 38.00, with a fifty and best score of 98. In the International League T20 season this year in UAE, Pooran led MI Emirates to the title with a brilliant campaign of 709 runs in 20 matches at an average of 50.64, with four fifties and a strike rate of 155.14. He was the third-highest run-getter in the tournament.

Along with that, he put in fine performances in SA20 2024 in South Africa (86 runs in three matches with a fifty), Major League Cricket (MLC) in USA (180 runs in seven matches with a fifty, average of 30.00, strike rate of 125.00), The Hundred in UK (227 runs in seven innings at an average of 45.40, with a strike rate of 150.33, with three fifties, fourth-highest run-getter).

In 13 T20Is for West Indies, he has scored 384 runs at an average of 34.90, with a strike rate of over 157, two half-centuries and best score of 98. Earlier in CPL 2024, Pooran went past legendary Chris Gayle's world record of 135 sixes in T20 cricket during a calendar year and cracked the 150-sixes mark recently, becoming the first player to do so.

Pooran's distant rivals this year in run-scoring are: South Africa's Reeza Hendricks (1,555 runs in 59 matches at an average of 31.10, with 14 fifties and strike rate of over 128), Pakistan's Babar Azam (1,480 runs in 36 matches at an average of 46.25, with a century, 13 fifties and strike rate of 132.73) and Travis Head (1,442 runs in 39 matches at an average of 41.20, with a century and 13 fifties, with a strike rate of 182.07). Could Pooran end up the year with more? Is he the best T20 batter out now. Only time will tell. (ANI)