Sometimes in sport, when things are not going someone’s way, the turnaround might be hard to come. Nicholas Pooran is facing one such moment on the field during the Indian Premier League.

One of the best T20 batters in world cricket, Pooran has struggled for form in the early stages of IPL 2021. In six innings, he has been out for a 0-ball duck, a 1-ball duck, a 2-ball duck, a 3-ball duck. He has scored 28 runs from six outings, with those runs coming in scores of 19 and 9.

Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore blog

KL Rahul scored a combative unbeaten 91 to lead Punjab Kings to a competitive 179/5 against Royal Challenger Bangalore in their IPL match in Ahmedabad on Friday. Rahul and Chris Gayle (46 off 24) shared 80 runs but Punjab’s middle order collapsed as Harpreet Brar, batting at number seven, was the only other batsman to manage a double-digit score.

Pooran’s innings equalled the record for the most ducks in a single IPL season. On Friday against Punjab, he was caught at point when fending off a rising delivery from Kyle Jamieson.

Despite Pooran and the rest of the middle order’s struggles, Punjab’s batting effort was enough to pull off an impressive win by 34 runs against Virat Kohli and Co.

With PTI inputs