Nicholas Pooran delivered a masterclass in T20 pyrotechnics as Lucknow Super Giants took on Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026. The southpaw’s 16-ball fifty – his fifth in under 20 balls – catapulted him into elite company, placing him second all-time behind Abhishek Sharma’s six.
Unleashing havoc at Wankhede, Pooran faced 21 balls for 63 runs, peppering the stands with 8 maximums and a boundary. This ended a lean patch, marking his first half-century in 18 T20 innings. His partnerships shone: 29 with Inglis and a rapid 94 off 34 with Marsh, giving LSG a thunderous start.
Pooran’s LSG legacy grows; he’s the franchise’s fastest to 50, with previous blitzes including a 15-ball effort against RCB (2023), 18 balls vs SRH (2025), 19 against MI (2024), and 20 vs DC (2024). Vaibhav Suryavanshi holds four such knocks.
Suryakumar Yadav’s MI boasted Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Gajanfar, and Raghuv Sharma. LSG’s XI featured skipper Rishabh Pant (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Josh Inglis, Pooran, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Himmat Singh, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, and Prince Yadav.
Table woes persist: MI ninth with 7 losses in 9, LSG last with 6 in 8. Pooran’s record-breaking surge offers hope amid the struggles.
