After a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign, Nicholas Pooran bounced back spectacularly through the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 Eliminator against Washington Freedom in Oakland on July 15. Captaining MI Recent York, the left-hander produced one among the best innings within the tournament’s history.
Pooran raced to a century in only 31 balls, the fastest hundred in MLC history, before being dismissed for a shocking 106 off 33 deliveries. His explosive knock featured five fours and 13 sixes. Watch every ball of Pooran’s record-breaking century below (via the 7Cricket X handle):
How a couple of 31-ball century?!
Here’s every one among those 31 balls from Nicholas Pooran within the MLC, featuring five fours and TWELVE sixes 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3hnxo8LWJM
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) July 16, 2026
Pooran’s explosive innings powered MI Recent York to a frightening 266/9 of their 20 overs within the must-win Eliminator. Although the 30-year-old endured an inconsistent MLC 2026 campaign, his century lifted his season tally to 424 runs from 11 matches at a mean of over 47 and a strike rate of 147.73.
Pooran is now the second-highest run-scorer of the season, behind only Lhuan-dre Pretorius. MI Recent York scraped into the playoffs after ending fourth with five wins from 10 league matches. The franchise is probably the most successful in MLC history, having won the title in 2023 and 2025.
While Washington Freedom made a powerful begin to the chase by reaching 77/2 in seven overs, the two-time champions remained in a powerful position to maintain their hopes of a 3rd MLC title alive.
Nicholas Pooran Struggled Throughout IPL 2026
Nicholas Pooran entered MLC 2026 on the back of a disappointing IPL 2026 season. Representing the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the previous West Indies batter managed just 234 runs in 14 matches at a mean of 18 and a strike rate below 128.
Pooran was shuffled up and down the batting order throughout the tournament, a move that contributed to his poor campaign after an excellent IPL 2025. He had enjoyed his first 500-plus run season within the IPL last yr, having also scored 499 runs within the 2024 edition.
Pooran’s dip in form also hurt LSG, who endured a miserable season and finished at the underside of the points table with just 4 wins from 14 matches.
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