Mumbai Indians’ (MI) power-hitter Kieron Pollard stated after his blistering unbeaten 87-run knock against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) that constructing the match because the “El Clasico” of the Indian Premier League (IPL) motivated the gamers to present it their greatest shot.
The West Indian, who’s 10 days shy of turning 34, performed a memorable innings, smashing eight sixes and 6 boundaries to information the defending champions to a four-wicket win against the arch-rivals on the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.
“CSK, they have class players in the side. We build this match as the El Clasico of IPL. And, when you have international guys, such as (MS) Dhoni, (Dwayne) Bravo and (Faf) du Plessis, with so much experience, we want to be able to come out and perform to the best of our ability in these sort of matches,” stated Pollard, who has been MI’s mainstay for greater than a decade.
The West Indian allrounder stated the key behind his longevity, and performing “day-in and day-out” for his franchise was that, “they (MI) believe in you after so many years and you want to give back by performing for them again and again”.
“Over a period of time, you are comfortable with a franchise, they believe in you after so many years and you just want to continue, give it your best for them. So, for me, it’s a matter of coming in day in and day out and trying to evolve as a cricketer and try to do my best for them,” stated Pollard, who overshadowed the blistering innings of CSK’s Ambati Rayudu (72 not out).
On how he constructed his innings, on condition that the staff was chasing a large 218 set by CSK on Saturday, Pollard stated, “The equation is all the time on the board (thoughts), the run-rate is there so that you can see. You choose these bowlers who you’re extra snug hitting, and attempt to manoeuvre one of the best bowler of the day.
“There are a lot of thing on the mind chasing big totals, but you have to keep calm in tough situations and try to make contact with the balls. We keep practicing these situations and scenarios and when you get the chance, you try and execute it,” he stated.
