MI's Pollard is turning out to be the man for crisis situations; Royal challengers Bangalore were at the receiving end yesterday
MI's Pollard is turning out to be the man for crisis situations; Royal challengers Bangalore were at the receiving end yesterday
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Some players just love to perform on the big stage. Mumbai Indians' Kieron Pollard is proving he is one of them. His performance in earlier matches of the league stage could at best be described as mediocre. But, when it matters the most at the business end of the Indian Premier League, Pollard put on his best show.
As seen in the semi-final against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium yesterday, it's Pollard's ability to accelerate at the finish that has given MI the winning edge.
The Trinidadian's presence in the dug-out has ensured that the MI top-order does not have to take too much pressure about the run-rate. The towering player has displayed great ability to accelerate the run-rate and make up for a few quiet overs early on.
Against RCB, after MI lost early wickets, Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary were forced to bat cautiously in the middle-overs to consolidate the situation. At 107 for four after 15 overs, MI were hardly in a dominating position.
But Pollard, backed by Tiwary's unbeaten half-century, provided the impetus to the MI innings, helping them finish at an imposing 184. Scoring at a stunning strike-rate of 253.84, the Trinidadian once again showed yesterday that he is a man for pressure-situations.
It was a fifty-fifty game when Pollard walked in at 144 for five in 17.4 overs. But in the 2.2 overs of lusty hitting, Pollard smashed an unbeaten 33 to turn the tide in MI's favour.
In the last three league games Pollard has maintained a super strike-rate ufffd 285.75 against Royal Challengers (20 off 7 balls), 346.15 against Delhi Daredevils (45 n.o off 13 balls) and 192.30 against Rajasthan Royals (25 off 13 balls).
The MI team management too deserves credit for getting the best out of Pollard. With the West Indian T20 star not making much of an impact lower down the order in the first-leg of the tournament, the general sentiment was that Pollard was being sent in to bat too low in the order by skipper Sachin Tendulkar. But, the MI management persisted with their gameplan. And, the way Pollard turned yesterday's all-important game on its head in 14 balls, MI's gameplan to use him as a finisher has proved to be a masterstroke.
Not only with the bat, Pollard has provided the balance in MI's bowling as well.
He has maintained a good line and has kept the batsmen in check with clever change of length and pace. He was the home team's star performer with the ball too, breaking the back of RCB's batting with three big wickets (4-0-17-3).
Pollard claimed the wickets of Uthappa, Kohli and Manish Pandey to reduce RCB from 81 for two to 108 for six. Dravid was run-out by the Abhishek Nayar-Pollard combination during this period.
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