Watch: Kieron Pollard humbly apologizes after a powerful shot hits a fangirl, gifts her a signed cap

Kieron Pollard-led MI New York defeated the Los Angeles Knight Riders to seal a spot in the MLC 2024 knockout stages. New York won the low-scoring match by four wickets with 18 balls to spare.

MI New York won the toss and opted to bat first. They were bowled out for 130 as their batters failed to put up a fighting total. Jason Roy (27) and Andre Russell (35) were the top scorers as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

The MI New York bowlers kept a check on the Knight Riders batters and did not allow them to post a big score. Overseas specialist Rashid Khan took 3 wickets and Trent Boult took 2. USA spinner Nosthush Kenjige also took two wickets.

MI New York too lost wickets at regular intervals in the chase. However, Pollard batting at seven played a match-winning cameo scoring an unbeaten 33 off 12 balls hitting two fours and three sixes. It was one of those sixes that hit a fan.

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Watch Kieron Pollard's gesture after ball hits a fan during MI New York vs Los Angeles Knight Riders Match

Checking up on the fan who got hit by a 6️⃣ off his bat 🤯 - all grace and heart, Polly 💙#OneFamily #MINewYork #CognizantMajorLeagueCricket | @KieronPollard55 @MLCricket pic.twitter.com/GmKQRf3VMV

— MI New York (@MINYCricket) July 22, 2024

Once the match ended, Pollard met the fan and apologized to her. The shot that hit the fan was a flick over the deep square leg. The bowler was Spencer Johnson who bowled into Kieron Pollard's pads and he was quick to whip it for six. Once again it was Pollard to the rescue for a Mumbai Indians-owned franchise.

The win guaranteed MI New York a spot in the final four. Washington Freedom topped the group with 11 points. San Francisco Unicorns finished second with nine points. Texas Super Kings and MI New York qualified for the playoffs with six and five points respectively. The Knight Riders lost four games to bow out of the tournament. Seattle Orcas were eliminated with five losses in the tournament.

Los Angeles skipper Sunl Narine was a dejected man to was eliminated from the tournament. He further credited the New York batting lineup as they successfully chased the score down. He also lamented the lack of consistency from the top order in getting runs including himself.

"I think the score, it was difficult to defend it against such a batting line-up, Pooran batted well and Polly finished off the game. But I'm proud about how we played and bowled in trying to defend the score. I didn't get the runs myself at the top of the order, we didn't get a lot of runs from the top-order, but it was a good tournament for us, the vibes were great and we came very close to qualifying," said Narine.

Now the Texas Super Kings and the MI New York will play the Eliminator match on July 24 followed by the Qualifier match between Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns. The final will be played in Dallas on July 28.

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