IPL 2019 | It was extraordinary and was something only Pollard could do, says Sridharan Sriram
Kings XI Punjab’s batting coach Sridharan Sriram has stated that Kieron Pollard had pulled off an extraordinary feat against Punjab and only he could continue such relentless hitting. He also revealed that the side has no idea of the extent of Chris Gayle’s injury and he would be assessed.
Kieron Pollard turned back the clock at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday as he hit a 31-ball-83 to take Mumbai Indians to a historic win against Kings XI Punjab. Chasing a massive 194 runs, Mumbai were reduced to 94/4 in the 12th over as the three-time champions were looking at yet another defeat in the hot and cold season.
However, Pollard, who was the stand-in captain in Rohit Sharma’s absence, stuck to the middle hitting three boundaries and as many as ten sixes to take his side home in an extraordinary manner. And Sririam was awe of the batsman.
“I’ve seen Russell doing that earlier. What Pollard did was extraordinary and to do it for 13 overs at 13 an over needed something and I think only Pollard could do that,” he said in the post-match press- conference, reported Cricbuzz.
Barring Mohammad Shami, every Punjab bowler was taken to the cleaners with Ankit Rajpoot and Sam Curran conceding the maximum. However, Sriram didn’t blame the bowlers banking on their combination, stating that they have to accept one such match and move on.
“We have had success as a bowling unit and that’s how our combination has worked at the moment. You have to take such a day like this. We can’t really do much. This combination has worked well for us before,” said he.
Though Punjab ended up posting a mammoth enough target batting first, banking on Chris Gayle and KL Rahul’s pyrotechnics, as the duo tallied 163 runs, Mumbai’s innings showed even that was insufficient. However, Sriram felt that 195 was a par score at the Wankhede.
“It tends to happen. Someone cannot keep hitting for all the twenty overs. These things are bound to happen. Sometimes, it was gripping a little bit, so Gayle and Miller got out. We didn’t have any target in mind. I thought 185-190 was par on this pitch. So, we were happy with 195,” he added.
Sriram also revealed that Gayle had felt a twitch in the back and the management has to monitor and assess how he was doing over the next couple of days.
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