Kieron Pollard went completely berserk as Mumbai Indians eclipsed a gigantic 219-run chase against Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday.
The right-handed batsman played an unbeaten knock of of 87 from just 34 deliveries, which included six boundaries and eight maximums.
Riding on Pollard's herculean effort, Mumbai secured an exciting four-wicket win in the final ball of the match.
Kieron Pollard wins the Man of the Match award for his stupendous knock of 87* off just 34 deliveries.
Take a bow, Polly #VIVOIPL #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/puSx7iXS3p
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 1, 2021
After being put to bat first, CSK endured a blow early in the innings as opener Ruturaj Gaikwad's poor run continued. However, Moeen Ali, who came to bat at the number three position, took the matter into his own hands, as Faf du Plessis kept scoring at run a ball.
Ali went on to complete his fourth half-century of the season, before he was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah on 58 off 36 balls. Soon after his dismissal, CSK lost two wickets in the form of Du Plessis and Suresh Raina in quick intervals.
With CSK struggling at 116/4 in the 12th over, Ambati Rayudu along with Ravindra Jadeja took charge and what followed next was absolute carnage.
Rayudu had a brilliant day on the pitch as the veteran cricketer played an imperious knock of 72* from just 27 deliveries. Batting at a staggering strike-rate of 266.67, the right-handed batsman went on to smash four boundaries and seven maximums, guiding CSK to a massive total of 218/4 in 20 overs.
WATCH - Ambati Rayudu smashes glass-breaking six against MI
Rayudu reached his half-century in just 20 deliveries, making him the joint second-fastest CSK batsman to complete the milestone. Suresh Raina currently tops the chart with his 16-ball fifty against Kings XI Punjab in 2014, followed by 20-ball fifty by skipper MS Dhoni against Mumbai Indians.
Such was his impact that he didn't even spare Mumbai Indians' premier seamer Jasprit Bumrah, who ended up with the most expensive spell of his IPL career. The bowler was hit for 21 runs in his third over, after Rayudu and Jadeja combined to hit two fours and a six. Bumrah gave 56 runs and picked one wicket in his four overs.
In response to CSK's gigantic 218/4, Mumbai got off to a strong start with skipper Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock adding 71 for the opening wicket. Rohit was the first man to depart after he was dismissed on 35 off 24 balls by Shardul Thakur.
Soon after the MI skipper's dismissal, the defending champions lost two wickets in quick succession (De Kock 38(28) and Suryakumar Yadav 3(3)).
Krunal Pandya then chipped in with a useful 32 off 23 in the middle but it took some powerful hitting by Pollard to help Mumbai chase down the target.
WHAT. A. WIN for the @mipaltan
Some serious hitting from @KieronPollard55 ( 87* off 34) as #MumbaiIndians win by 4 wickets.
Scorecard - https://t.co/NQjEDM2zGX #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/UAb6SYCMQz
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 1, 2021
Apart from Pollard, Hardik Pandya smashed two sixes in Sam Curran's penultimate over, which helped ease the pressure upto a certain extent. Hardik was dismissed on 16 off 7 in the same over.
Pollard then kept the strike to himself in the final over bowled by Lungi Ngidi as the Windies hitter smashed the Proteas quick for two bounadries and a six, before completing a double in the final ball to seal the win for Mumbai.
