Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma has admitted that he has never seen a chase like his team pulled off against Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday. The defending champions had their work cut out as they had to chase the gargantuan total of 219 runs but Kieron Pollard was able to pull off the heist.
Pollard smashed 87 runs from 34 balls as Rohit believes it was one of the best innings from the all-rounder. MI were under the cosh as they were reeling at 81-3 after 10 overs and their innings needed a push, which was provided by Kieron Pollard.
The hard hitter took the attack against Ravindra Jadeja and took 20 runs from 13th over. Pollard didn’t look back after that as he smashed Chennai bowlers to every corner of the ground. The right-hander, who is well known for his pyrotechnics, scored six fours and eight sixes to help his team get over the line with four wickets in hand.
MI needed 66 runs off the last five overs and Pollard did the bulk of the scoring. The veteran batsman was able to clear the boundaries with ease and batted at his absolute best to take his team to their fourth win of the season.
Pollard also completed his fifty off just 17 balls and brought up the fastest fifty of the ongoing season. There was no stopping Pollard as he was on a rampage and showed no mercy.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation, “Probably one of the T20 games that I have ever been part of. I have never seen a chase like that before. One of best innings from Polly. Brilliant to see from outside. Good pitch, smaller ground, we wanted to stay positive once we finished the 20 overs. We got a decent start and then we saw what happened. We just wanted to go there and express ourselves. A brilliant partnership at the top, the Krunal-Pollard partnership was crucial too. When chasing a high score, you want your power-hitters to bat as many balls as possible”.
Mumbai Indians have won two matches in a row and they have surely got the momentum on their side. The defending champions will next face SRH at the same venue on 4th May.
