Kieron Pollard likes to do things in a quiet manner. Especially after being reprimanded by the umpires for taping his mouth while fielding after being told to stay quiet in a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore early this season.
Kieron Pollard likes to do things in a quiet manner. Especially after being reprimanded by the umpires for taping his mouth while fielding after being told to stay quiet in a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore early this season.
The 28-year-old Trinidadian's utility for Mumbai Indians has been immense ever since he began his IPL career with the franchise in 2010. Playing for MI for the sixth straight year, Pollard stressed on being consistent for the side.
"It’s about being consistent for me. Lots of people said lots of things. It acted as motivation. Before this tournament, a lot of people said, ‘Pollard is a spent force', 'Pollard is this', 'Pollard is that', 'Pollard is done'.
For me it’s about not really proving them wrong," said Pollard, who was man of the match for his 17-ball 41 with one four and five sixes that boosted MI to 187/6 on Tuesday night.
Pollard added: "But I know what I can do. Quietly, I have been able to be consistent for the team, and whichever situation it is, when I have had time to bat, I have batted time. When we needed to go, I went.
Once you play cricket with a clean heart and a clean mind, things follow you. I’ve been targeted, but I’m just staying quiet, trying to do my bit and hopefully at the end of the day it is enough for Mumbai to win the trophy."
Mumbai Indians emerged victors by a comfortable 25-run margin. Did they think 187 was enough before the CSK chase began?
"I think 187 was a good total. On this ground, 180 was par. So we had a few runs to play with. But at the end of it, Chennai is a good team. They came here during the league stages and demolished us. We scored 183 and they smoked it in about 17 overs, so we knew we were up for a game. We knew what was in front of us and what we needed to do as a team. I’m stressing on team again because it was a total team effor," Pollard said.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's twin strikes in his third over to dismiss Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni changed the course of the game for MI. Pollard agreed. "Yes, it (Harbhajan's strikes) was important. It was a total team effort. Bhajji, of course, didn’t start well in the first couple of overs, but that over he bowled really changed the game for us. Getting those two wickets – Raina and Dhoni – was absolutely massive.
They can change a game in a couple of overs. But it was a total team effort too. Bhajji bowled well. Vinay Kumar, Malinga bowled well. Mitch (McClenaghan) went around the park but he got a vital wicket in the end. Everything adds up in the end and it’s good for us that we won as a team. The openers set the foundation for us and they have been doing that for the last couple of games. Yes, we had a bit of a stutter, but this is what Twenty20 cricket is all about. It’s about playing as a team and finishing as a team."
Stutter, Mumbai Indians did, losing four matches at the start before finding their winnings ways.
Pollard said: "Yes, I think it’s good for us. I was disappointed after our first four games. Lots of people wrote us off. So, in itself, maybe it was a blessing in disguise for us. As Ricky (Ponting) has been emphasising, we haven’t done much differently. All we have done is come out and try to play complete cricket. It’s a total team effort throughout. Management, staff, players, everyone decided ‘Let’s give it our best shot’ and you know, here we are in the finals. So, congratulations to the team, we have played good cricket in the last month or so."
Asked what was lacking at the start and the reasons behind the turnaround, Pollard said: "I don’t think anything was lacking. This is franchise cricket, it’s a group of guys coming together two or three days before a tournament. Sometimes the team that adapts quickly builds that momentum. In the last two years, Mumbai Indians have been unable to start well but we’ve been able to finish well. One thing we need to work on is trying to start the tournament with a higher percentage of wins. Having said that, if every year we are in this position and play like this and end up in the final, then we’ll take it every year!
"But like I said, it’s franchise cricket. We’re not playing together as a team (for the rest of the year). New players come in every year. You have to give it time sometimes. Some teams click faster than some others. Chennai have a settled unit, so they are always consistent. But at the end of the day, we’re in the final and that’s what is most important."
Pollard was as pleased as his team's achievement this year so far, sealing the final berth.
"Coming up against CSK is always going to be a big task," Pollard said. "We look at it as different rounds in a boxing match. From the start of this month, when we had to win, we were taking it one round by one round. Getting that opportunity to finish second put us in a position where we had two games to get to the final. We spoke about continuing to be ruthless, and I think we played one of our most perfect games today. There were a couple of dropped catches, there’s always room for improvement, but having said that, coming out and winning here and going directly into the final from where we were, I think it’s a marvellous achievement for us as a team."
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