Kieron Pollard unveils reason behind promoting himself: Mumbai Indians skipper was seen leading from the front against Kings XI Punjab.
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Mumbai Indians stand-in captain Kieron Pollard sounded grateful after he led his team to an emphatic 3-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab at Mumbai. A fourth victory in IPL 2019 means that MI have now surpassed KXIP at No. 3 in the points table.
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Pollard ended up dedicating the superlative victory to his wife. “I would like to thank God. Need to thank him for giving strength to me for doing the things that I do. Also love to thank my wife, it’s her birthday today and I want to dedicate this to her,” Pollard was quoted as saying.
After Pollard won the toss and put KXIP in to bat, it seemed at one point in time that the visitors would easily cross the 200-run mark. That being said, Mumbai bowlers did well to restrict them to 197/4 in 20 overs. Being asked about the same, Pollard spoke against bring harsh on his bowlers.
“Was a difficult pitch to bowl on and good to bat on, so we did well with the ball after the start they got. We did pull things back in the middle overs a bit but lost the plot at the end. Again, can’t be harsh on the bowlers. We finished on the right end of the result and thanks to God for that to,” Pollard said.
“Plan was to attack Ashwin”
Pollard, who usually bats at No. 5 or below for MI, was seen coming in to bat at No. 4 in the eighth over. As much as it was a captain trying to force the attack on the opposition, the move also involved some serious planning.
“I went up the order because I enjoy batting at Wankhede. Plan was to attack Ashwin as spin wasn’t doing great. Unfortunately it didn’t happen but it was about staying calm,” Pollard disclosed reason about his batting promotion.
Before concluding, the 31-year old cricketer opened up on regular captain Rohit Sharma. Pollard opined that Sharma would come back into the squad in the next match and him being rested today was a precautionary measure.
“Rohit is the captain of the team and it was only a precautionary measure for the team. He should be back in the next game. I would gladly give it back to him and field at the boundary, while also thinking of what to contribute to the team,” Pollard added.
