45 balls was all it took for Nicholas Pooran to stamp his authority on the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League, as he blazed away the St.Kitts and Nevis Patriots with his maiden century in T20 cricket. The southpaw was head and shoulders above the rest of his teammates, as he got the first ever century in the 2020 CPL as well, in an innings that was studded with 10 sixes.

“At the halfway mark, we were happy with the score. Pooran is special and it was a special innings. Don't think anyone else would have done that. It was a difficult pitch and he made it look like a batting paradise. Well done to him, can't fault the bowlers. Definitely a lot of positives,” said the winning captain Chris Green in the post match interview.

Pooran’s team Guyana Amazon Warriors needed 151 to win, and found themselves in a spot of bother at 25/2 when the southpaw came out to bat. On a difficult batting surface, the 24-year-old started off cautiously, picking the gaps and allowing himself to get his eye in.

The West Indian cricketer, who represents Kings XI Punjab in the Dream11 Indian Premier League, took a liking for the spinners however, as he latched onto the looseners offered by Imran Khan and Jon-Russ Jaggesar to get the full monty. He needed just 25 balls to get to his second fifty of CPL 2020, but that was just the beginning.

With his eye in, Pooran was ready for the countercharge and Ish Sodhi and Sohail Tanvir felt the full wrath of it, conceding five sixes and a four amongst them. To finish off the game, Pooran hit three consecutive sixes off Sodhi’s bowling, with the third of those getting him to that magical three figure mark.

This was Pooran’s first century in T20 cricket and was also the first century of the 2020 CPL. The southpaw also made it to the record books for scoring the third fastest ton in the history of the competition, as he and Ross Taylor added a whopping 127 runs for the fourth wicket.

“Firstly, I want to thank everyone, especially my trainer, who has worked on my fitness in the last couple of months. I wanted to improve my skills and fitness was the way. For the last two years, I haven't been able to finish games, this was a big game for me and it came off well for me. When Sodhi came to bowl, I backed myself and went for it,” said man of the match Pooran in the post game interview.