Pooran only WI player in ICC team-of-the-tournament

Left-hander Nicholas Pooran
Left-hander Nicholas Pooran

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – Left-hander Nicholas Pooran has been included in the team-of-the-tournament for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup which wrapped up here Saturday.

The 29-year-old finished with 228 runs at an average of 38 and a scoring rate of 146, to be the West Indies’ leading batsman for the tournament.

West Indies failed to reach the semi-finals of the tournament when they fell at the Super Eight stage, after playing unbeaten in the group stage.

Pooran notched the tournament’s highest score of 98 when he lashed half-dozen fours and eight sixes in a 53-ball stunner, as West Indies trounced Afghanistan by 104 runs in their final group stage game.

He was the only West Indies player to be named in the ICC team-of-the-tournament.

Champions India boast six players in the lineup with captain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh all included.

Rohit was particularly outstanding with three half-centuries in the showpiece while new ball seamers Jasprit Bumrah (15) and Arshdeep Singh (17) led the tournament in wickets.

Afghan left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi, who also picked up 17 wickets, earned a spot in the team along with South African speedster Anrich Nortje (15) and Afghan leg-spinning captain Rashid Khan (14).

India clinched their second T20 World Cup title when they edged South Africa in the final at Kensington Oval by seven runs.