Kieron Pollard has been a quiet achiever for Mumbai Indians so far in the IPL 2015.
The West Indian spoke with emotion after playing a big part in the 25-run victory over Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday night.
With his team barging into the final and bagging a Man-of-the-Match award, the allrounder hoped the Qualifier 1 win would change people’s perception of him.
“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 done’. For me it’s about not really proving them wrong, it’s about being consistent.”
He is a chirpy character and got into trouble for verbal duel with opponents in earlier matches.
After umpires warned him to keep his words under control, Pollard came out with a tape on his mouth as a protest.
“I’ve been targeted, but I’m just staying quiet, trying to do my bit. Hopefully at the end of the day it is enough for Mumbai to win the trophy.”
Pollard said: “Once you play with a clean heart and a clean mind, things follow. I know what I can do. Quietly, I have been able to be consistent, and whichever situation it is, when I have had time to bat, I have batted.”
The West Indian displayed self-denial against KKR in a previous league tie here, hitting only one four, one six in 33 off 38 balls in a stand with Hardik Pandya.
Performing as a groupHe spoke about performing as a group as the most satisfying part about Qualifier 1 victory. “We knew what we needed to do as a team.
“I’m stressing on the word because it was a total team effort. Bhajji bowled well. Getting those two wickets (Raina and Dhoni) was massive. Vinay Kumar, Malinga bowled well. Mitch (McClenaghan) went around the park but got a vital wicket. The openers set the foundation. “Everything adds up in the end. Twenty20 cricket is all about playing and finishing as a team.”
CSK felt the power of the his batting, five sixes in 41 off 17 balls followed by canny bowling, mixing pace and trajectory, taking his runs tally to 383 in 15 games.
“Chennai is a good team. They came here during the league stages and demolished us. We scored 183 and they smoked it in 17 overs, so we knew we were up for a game.”
MI lost first four games in a row, now awaits the second finalist.
“Lots of people wrote us off after first four games. So, in itself, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. 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.
“Management, staff, players, all of us decided ‘let’s give it our best shot’ and you know, here we are in the final,” concluded Pollard with a smile.
