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IPL 2021: Mahela Jayawardene rates Pollard's knock as one of the very best

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Mumbai Indians halted Chennai Super Kings’ winning run after completing a sensational run-chase in the final delivery of the match courtesy a special knock from the blade of Kieron Pollard. MI’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene rated Pollard’s knock as one of the very best he has seen from the Caribbean. In a video posted by the Mumbai Indians, Jayawerdena can be seen congratulating his team for chasing down a mammoth target of 219 runs. 

The Mumbai vs Chennai contest has always been one of the high-octane games of the competition. It is regarded as the El Classico of IPL and Jayawerdena also reiterated the fact that this game hasn’t been easy for either of the teams. 

“It was an amazing game. I think history shows that this game is not an easy game for either of the teams. I think the quality both team possesses showed today. The margins are very small. I think the conditions and all that helped. Two powerhouse team to conquer and I think we held our nerves a little bit better at the back end,” Jayawardene said. 

Speaking on Pollar’s exceptional knock, Jayawardene said, “And obviously Polly’s amazing knock. Cant take that away. One of the very best, I have seen a few from Pollard while I have been in Mumbai but this is right up there. Just the mental toughness for him to go through that whole scenario, analysing what he needs to do and who he needs to take down and going through and keeping other batters calm collective as well. Great knock from him. 

Pollard not only made a match-winning impact with the bat but he also bagged two crucial wickets with the ball in hand. He was close to taking three having missed a tough chance and with Jadeja getting away with the LBW call. Jayawardene said that Pollard was not too happy after not being given the ball for a third over despite bagging a couple of wickets. 

“Showed a lot of leadership qualities out there especially with the ball as well. He was bit upset that he wasn’t given the third but I know he was a bit tired at that time. Overall it was a fantastic game for Polly and the whole team. Another win. Gives us an opportunity to play some consistent cricket and focus on producing the goods in the second half of the tournament. 

Chasing a mammoth target of 219, Mumbai Indians began fluently with the help of some exceptional shots from the blade of Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma. The skipper was dismissed after a partnership of 60 runs with QDK. Rohit’s dismissal brought in two more as Suryakumar Yadav and QDK was also dismissed in quick succession. 

MI needed a big knock from Pollard and he came out all guns blazing. He started taking on the spinners and after a few sixes, there was no respite for any of the bowlers. Even his mishits were sailing over the boundary ropes and CSK was under the pump. Despite losing his partners at the other end, he kept plundering sixes at will and eventually helped MI chase the target down in the final delivery of the match. He remained unbeaten on 87 of 34 deliveries which included 6 fours and 8 sixes.

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