Nicholas Pooran led Northern Superchargers to a seven-wicket triumph

The Northern Superchargers, led by Andrew Flintoff, won The Hundred for the first time this season thanks to a 62-run effort by Nicholas Pooran (34 deliveries).

Despite having to borrow Phil Salt’s bat during his debut against the Trent Rockets, Nicholas showed why he was the first pick in the Hundred Draft by dominating from the outset against an attack that included Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Rehan Ahmed, and Akeal Hosein.

Captain Harry Brook helped the purple team in this year’s championship get off to a strong start by supporting Nicholas Pooran in a 50-partnership. He was there to win it in style.

The Southern Brave didn’t do anything wrong other than face Adil Rashid with the ball and Pooran with the bat, but they weren’t quite at their absolute best either, having played at Utilita Bowl the previous week.

Rashid’s 1 for 19 helped the Braves reach 146 for 8, which was maybe a touch light considering the Superchargers had to mount the second-highest chase in the competition on a track where spin was always going to be crucial. Nevertheless, James Vince and his team would have felt in the game at that point.

Archer got off to a quick start, hitting 93 mph, but Pooran took over after the 15th ball. The West Indian smashed five sixes, giving the Leeds crowd plenty of opportunity to practise catching, as they triumphed at home with great gusto.

Pooran, the Meerkat Match Hero, stated: “It feels incredible. Playing back-to-back games at home after that first game we lost, we were looking for the victory.