JOIN US Forced into a corner after suffering five losses in their opening six games, Mumbai Indians have turned around their IPL season in stunning fashion. Having secured the second spot in the league phase out of nowhere, MI then beat the Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 here on Tuesday to secure their third final berth.
Gaining confidence with every passing match, the Mumbai Indians are now just one win away from a second IPL crown and Kieron Pollard, who played a 17-ball 41 blitzkrieg against CSK, said the losses at the start acted as a confidence booster.
“I was disappointed after our first four games, lots of people wrote us off,” said the West Indian during the post-match press conference. “Maybe it was a blessing in disguise for us. 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. It’s a total team effort throughout. Management, staff, players, everyone decided ‘Let’s give it our best shot’ and you know, here we are in the finals. So congratulations to the team, we have played good cricket in the last month or so.”
Pollard felt every team needs time to settle down and with his team in transition, they took longer than expected. “One thing we need to work on is trying to start the tournament with a higher percentage of wins. Having said that, if every year we are in this position and play like this and end up in the final, then we’ll take it every year!”
Pollard, personally, has enjoyed a fine season, scoring 383 runs and also bowling some crucial overs during the end stages. Elated at his performance, he said it’s good to prove his detractors wrong again. “It’s about being consistent for me. Before this tournament, a lot of people said, ‘Pollard is a spent force, Pollard is this, Pollard is that, Pollard is done.’ For me it’s about, not really proving them wrong, but I know what I can do. Quietly, I have been able to be consistent for the team. Once you play cricket with a clean heart and a clean mind, things follow you. I’ve been targeted, but I’m just staying quiet, trying to do my bit.”