It is all about winning matches for the team: Kieron Pollard

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MI batsman Kieron Pollard was on song during the match against Chennai Super Kings in Delhi after he anchored his team to a win by 4 wickets while chasing a mammoth target of 219 runs. Pollard remained unbeaten at 87 off 34 during the course. 

Talking about his innings during the post-match conference, Pollard said that it is all about performing for the team and personal milestones don’t really matter. 

“It is all about winning matches for the team and not about personal milestones and this is what I have done. It is good to get out there, bat for a couple of overs and win it for your team. It was a total team effort,” Pollard said. 

Mumbai started off well after captain Rohit Sharma and wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock gave them a solid start but a fall of quick wickets pushed them on the backfoot before Pollard and Krunal joined hands to provide the resistance. The West Indies batsman credited the three players for their efforts in the middle. 

“Partnership with Krunal was crucial while skipper (Rohit) and Quinton had given us that start and a couple of sixes from Hardik in the later part of the match helped us. It was a total team effort from a batting perspective,” Pollard who notched up the fastest fifty in the IPL 2021 said.  

“It is good to perform for the franchise. They believe in you and you perform for them. For me it is about trying to evolve everyday as a cricketer.,” he further added.  

Pollard further lavished praise on the CSK unit and admitted that it feels good to come out and perform against such an opposition.

“We (CSK and MI) have built this match up ‘El Clasico’ of the IPL and when you have experienced guys who have played so much international cricket like Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina who have done it for the team time and again.” Pollard spoke about the clash of titans.

“You wanna come out and perform in these sort of matches and situations. For me, it is all about doing what is my strength and what the team requires at any given time,” he further added.

Talking about the required run-rate and the plan, Pollard said that he did have a close eye on the required run-rate. “Yeah, you have to keep an eye on the run-rate required and it is a matter of choosing the bowlers you can go after and more comfortable to hit. There are a lot of things that go in the mind but it is the matter of keeping yourself calm,” he said.

The Caribbean batsman revealed that the team did have a small chase before coming out to bat of what needed to be done. “We had a small conversation in the half-time and we knew how the pitch was. We knew if we stayed in there and had the foundation, we would have the armoury to come and deliver for us.” 

MI will now play SRH on Tuesday in Delhi. 



 

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