The man, the T20 legend, Kieron Pollard blew away the bulldozing Chennai Super Kings side in Match No 27 of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on a fantastic batting surface in Delhi as he helped Mumbai Indians chase down 219 runs.
Mumbai Indians had a fantastic start to their innings chasing a huge total as the openers skipper Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock came card in the first six overs. Some streaky boundaries, some powerful strikes and MI were 58/0 in the powerplay and were up and running.
However, one wicket suddenly started a procession. Shardul Thakur got rid of Rohit, who played a scratchily-paced innings till that point in the eighth over and then Ravindra Jadeja packed bags of Suryakumar Yadav in the ninth over and Moeen Ali accounted for the set Quinton de Kock in the 10th over and Mumbai Indians were slowly slipping into a hole at 81/3 needing 138 runs in the final 10.
But with the firepower in the tank, they were never out of it and that's what just took place. After two quiet overs, both Pollard and Krunal Pandya had their eyes in and they were ready to launch as they had no option but to go after every bowler with 125 runs required off the last eight overs.
The first victim of the attack was Jadeja only as Pollard hit three sixes off the 13th over to accumulate 20 off the over. The next was Lungi Ngidi, two sixes from Pollard and 16 runs off that over, the equation now suddenly came down to 89 required off 36.
The next was Shardul Thakur and the pacer got a pasting in that over as three wides, three fours and one six, the 15th over of the innings cost 23 runs and now the Mumbai Indians were in the driver's seat as Pollard brought up the fastest fifty by a batsman this season, off just 17 balls overtaking Prithvi Shaw, who got to in just 18 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Ngidi came on to bowl the next and he went for 16 runs again and Mumbai now required 50 runs off the last four overs. The equation was simple now, CSK had to get Pollard out.
In came Sam Curran landing yorkers at will, left, right and centre and he scalped out Krunal Pandya and gave just two runs in the over, and the equation was 48 needed off three overs.
Shardul Thakur came into bowl the 18th over, a single, wide, four and a six, the Mumbai side got the runs they needed off this over but Thakur produced a magical chance, got Pollard to mistime it towards long-on and Faf du Plessis of all fielders dropped the catch and it was the game right there.
Sam Curran took two more wickets in the next over but Hardik Pandya hit two sixes in that over and MI needed 16 runs off the last over with Pollard on strike. First ball, low full toss, Pollard didn't run, second ball, he got a boundary off a fantastic yorker towards fine leg, third ball a full toss and Pollard got it just fine off the fielder on square leg and the equation was down to 8 off 3.
Another ball, he missed to connect and he didn't run. Fifth ball, another full toss and Pollard got it over the rope and with MI requiring two off the last, a strange field by CSK with no fielders on the on-side and Pollard came back for an easy two.
