Match Fixing or Tactics: Why Didn't Nicholas Pooran Stump Max Holden During ILT20?

The International League T20 is underway and the tournament has been host to some terrific matches so far. Big International stars have made their presence felt in the league and have come up with eye-catching performances in the league, which makes it one of the richest cricket leagues in the world.

One of the exciting games that was under the spotlight was between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates on December 9, 2025. The match went down to the wire and also produced some moments that became viral, leaving fans wondering about why it happened.

Why Didn't Nicholas Pooran Stump Max Holden?

The Nicholas Pooran stumping incident is all over the news as he is denying to stump out Max Holden. It happened in the 16th over of the Desert Vipers innings when Rashid Khan was bowling to Holden, who was struggling to get going.

Leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who is currently one of the best spinners in the world, bowled a short wide delivery to which Holden came down the track but missed it completely. Nicholas Pooran behind the stumps cleanly collected the ball and had all the time in the world to stump out the batter but his reaction left many confused.

Instead of dislodging the bails, he waited for the batter to cone back in the crease, allowing him to continue batting. This made Rashid Khan as well as the commentators go berserk as they expressed visible frustration.

This was the tactic used by Nicholas Pooran as Max Holden was struggling to score runs. He did do so to restrict the Desert Vipers to a low total. But his move didn’t pay off as Vipers came up with better tactical brilliance and retired Max Holden at the next available moment. Hence, the Nicholas Pooran max holden incident didn't pay off for the WI wicketkeeper.

Here’s the Nicholas Pooran ILT20 Stumping:

Desert Vipers Beat MI Emirates by 1 run

Coming to the match, Desert Vipers beat MI Emirates by 1 run. Vipers, who batted first, posted 159 runs on the board with opener Fakhar Zaman (35) and Andries Gous (21) giving a good start with the bat, adding 39 runs for the opening stand. Max Holden played an innings of 42 runs off 37 balls, while contributions from the lower-order powered Vipers to a total of around 160. For MI Emirates, Allah Ghazanfar took two wickets.

In the chase, MI Emirates were right on the track as Muhammad Waseem (24), Tom Banton (34), Nicholas Pooran (31), and Kieron Pollard (23) batted decently. But the game went to the last over with them needing 16 runs. Rashid Khan (13*) gave his best with the bat but couldn’t take his team home as Desert Vipers emerged winners by just 1 run.

David Payne was the star with the ball as he picked four wickets. This was the second loss for MI Emirates in the league and they are now reeling at the 4th spot in the points table with just one win under their belt. On the other hand, Vipers are at the top of the points table with four wins out of their four games.