Nicholas Pooran’s 31-ball hundred went in vain as Steve Smith and Andries Gous helped Washington Freedom beat MI New York in MLC 2026.
Nicholas Pooran hits 31-ball hundred...
MI New York amassed 266-9 after Washington Freedom captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to field at the Oakland Coliseum. Quinton de Kock smashed a 24-ball 51, while Kieron Pollard muscled his way to a 25-ball 65.
The star of the show, however, was Nicholas Pooran. He blazed his way to a 14-ball 50, then a 31-ball 100 – the third-fastest in men’s T20 history – before falling for a 33-ball 106 with five fours and 13 sixes. This is now the joint sixth-fastest hundred in the history of the format.
At 183-3 in the 12th over, Freedom seemed set for a truly colossal target, but Rachin Ravindra (4-29) pegged them back.
Fastest men’s T20 hundreds
| Balls | Batter | Team | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| 27 | Sahil Chauhan | Estonia | Cyprus | Episkopi | 2024 |
| 28 | Urvil Patel | Gujarat | Tripura | Indore | 2024 |
| 28 | Abhishek Sharma | Punjab | Meghalaya | Rajkot | 2024 |
| 29 | Muhammad Farhad | Turkey | Bulgaria | Sofia | 2025 |
| 30 | Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Pune Warriors India | Bengaluru | 2013 |
| 31 | Urvil Patel | Gujarat | Services | Hyderabad | 2025 |
| 31 | Nicholas Pooran | MI New York | Washington Freedom | Oakland | 2026 |
... but gets trumped by Steve Smith and Andries Gous
Freedom became 10-2 in response when Andries Gous joined Smith. The pair put on 241, the highest third-wicket partnership and the joint second-highest for any wicket in men’s T20 history. By the time Gous fell for a 51-ball 132 (10 fours, 12 sixes), Freedom needed only 16 in three overs. These, they got with eight balls to spare as Smith remained unbeaten on a 48-ball 110 (seven fours, nine sixes).
This is now the highest target successfully chased in men’s T20 history. The match also set the first instance of a T20 game yielding 50 sixes (51).
Highest successful chases in men’s T20
| Target | Score | Team | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| 267 | 270-4 (18.4) | Washington Freedom | MI New York | Oakland | 2026 |
| 265 | 265-4 (18.5) | Punjab Kings | Delhi Capitals | Delhi | 2026 |
| 262 | 262-2 (18.4) | Punjab Kings | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kolkata | 2024 |
Highest partnerships in men’s T20
| Partnership | Wicket | Batters | Team | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| 258* | 1st | Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming, Lachlan Yanamoto-Lake | Japan | China | Mong Kok | 2024 |
| 241 | 1st | Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim | Dhaka Capital | Durbar Rajshahi | Sylhet | 2025 |
| 241 | 3rd | Andries Gous, Steve Smith | Washington Freedom | MI New York | Oakland | 2026 |
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