MUMBAI: Kieron Pollard won the battle of the West Indian big men as he struck peak-hitting form to carry Mumbai Indians to their third successive win this season. Having taken over as captain — to fill in for an injured Rohit Sharma — Pollard took charge in every sense. With Kings XI Punjab scoring a hefty 197/4 at Wankhede Stadium in their IPL match in Mumbai on Wednesday, Pollard chased down the target belligerently, almost single-handedly.
In a prime example of power-hitting, Pollard hit 83 off 31 balls, with the help of 10 sixes. The knock was also highest score in the event. But he needed Antiguan Alzarri Joseph to bring it home, this time with the bat off the final ball.Joseph, who had made a sensational debut last week with a six-wicket haul, batted with the poise of a seasoned campaigner. Pollard’s dismissal in the last over led to some late-night drama, with both the teams flirting with the possibility of a super over. But Joseph knocked off the two required runs off the last ball to complete a thrilling win. The win saw them replace Punjab at No 3 on the leaderboard.
Before Pollard, there had been Chris Gayle. And KL Rahul. The opening batsmen had laid the foundation nicely for a big score for Punjab with a 116-run partnership earlier in the day. While Gayle muscled the ball around — with minimum foot work and maximum effect — for 63 off 36 balls, Rahul had paced his innings almost perfectly to score his maiden IPL hundred. Rahul scored an unbeaten century to carry his bat through for second match in the row, and at the break it looked like he had done enough to secure victory for his team.
In fact, Punjab looked in charge for most part of the match. With the ball, Mohammed Shami was impeccable and his opening spell read: 2-0-4-1 (Siddhesh Lad, bowled).When Shami returned to the attack towards the end, he dismissed the dangerous Hardik Pandya off the first ball and his brother Krunal later in the same over. With the required run-rate crossing 14 and Mumbai losing wickets at regular intervals, it looked like a lost cause for the hosts.
Except to Pollard.
The experienced and explosive batsman had replaced Rohit — out with a muscle spasm — as the team captain. And he refused to be moved by any adversity around him.Pollard, who had given an impression of being reckless often, was calm and in his hitting zone. The Trinidadian hauled the ball all around the park, pulling and driving effortlessly to keep his team in the reckoning even with the required run-rate climbing upwards. He was particularly severe on Sam Curran, and plundered 17 off him in the penultimate over to get Mumbai on the threshold of a win.
Ankit Rajpoot had averaged more than 12 runs per over in his first three and had settled down in the dug-out following a finger injury. But he had to be called upon for the final over, with Mumbai still 15 runs away from an unlikely heist.
The pressure was on. Rajpoot faltered: first a dead ball, then a no ball that Pollard carted for a six. The West Indian got a four off the free hit, but having brought his team on the threshold of victory, he too fell.There were a few nerves in both the camps. A super over loomed large. But Joseph brought up the winning runs with a straight drive.
points tableTeam M W L NRR Pts
CSK 6 5 1 +0.310 10
KKR 6 4 2 +0.614 8
MI 6 4 2 +0.290 8
KXIP 7 4 3 -0.057 8
SRH 6 3 3 +0.810 6
DC 6 3 3 +0.131 6
RR 5 1 4 -0.848 2
RCB 6 0 6 -1.453 0