IPL 2021: Twitter Erupts As Kieron Pollard's Storm Blows Away Chennai Super Kings

By Yash Mittal

Updated - 02 May 2021, 01:41 AM

Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard [Image-IPLT20]

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A once in a liftime display of power-hitting by Kieron Pollard (87* off 34 balls) has helped defending champions Mumbai Indians chase their first-ever 200+ plus total in what was a cliffhanger against the Chennai Super Kings in Delhi.

Needing a mammoth 219 to win, Mumbai Indians desperately wanted a blazing start from their openers and that is exactly what they got from skipper Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock.

Sharma, who successfully reviewed the on-field LBW call off the bowling of Deepak Chahar, looked in his elements today on what was a flat pitch in Delhi.

Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock [Image-IPLT20]
He cut, pulled, dabbed with absolute disdain, smashing 4 fours and one six in the powerplay. Quinton de Kock complimented Rohit brilliantly with his swivel pulls, scoops, flicks and drives to rack up 25 off 17 balls as Mumbai Indians finished the powerplay at 0/58.

But Chennai Super Kings pulled back the game brilliantly between overs 7-10 as they managed just 13 runs and lost three wickets in the form of both openers and Suryakumar Yadav.

(Credits: Twitter)

While Rohit (35 off 24) holed out while trying to loft Shardul Thakur over extra-cover, Suryakumar Yadav (3 off 3) nicked off against Ravindra Jadeja. Quinton De Kock, on the other hand, ended up giving a simple return catch to Moeen Ali.

Kieron Pollard [Image-IPLT20]
With just 94 off the first 12 overs, Mumbai Indians desperately needed a big over and they got that thanks to Kieron Pollard who smashed Jadeja for three sixes in the 13th over.

Pollard backed it up with a couple of back-to-back sixes off Lungi Ngidi in the next over. The partnership between Pollard and Krunal completed 50 runs off just 27 balls and the West Indians swashbuckler celebrated that by smashing Shardul Thakur for a six-over wide long-off before creaming him past the covers for a four on the first two balls of the 15th over.

Kieron Pollard [Image-IPLT20]
He got lucky when he, in an attempt to hoike Shardul over deep midwicket ended up outside edging it to third-man for another four, but the all-rounder backed it up with a disdainful pull for another four to bring up a 17-ball 50.

Pollard’s 17-ball 50 is the fastest of IPL 2021 beating Prithvi Shaw’s previous record of 18 balls.

Krunal Pandya joined the party by smashing Lungi for two sixes and a four in the next over to reduce the equation to 50 off the last 24 balls.

Sam Curran [Image-IPLT20]
But just like the game against KKR, Sam Curran proved to be the partnership-breaker for Chennai Super Kings as he pinned Krunal Pandya with a pin-point yorker in the following over. Curran gave just two runs in the 17th over, reducing the equation to 48 off the last three overs.

Pollard, though, continued to hammer Shardul Thakur as he muscled the seamer for a six over his head before drilling him for a four straight down the ground. But Shardul could have had the last laugh but Faf du Plessis dropped a sitter of a catch after the Mumbai Indians all-rounder top-edged the pull-shot. [Yes, you heard it right].

Hardik Pandya joined the party by smashing Sam  Curran for consecutive sixes in the penultimate over before Du Plessis caught the Indian all-rounder, who ended up hitting an attempted loft straight to wide long-off’s throat.

Curtain dismissed James Neesham, who holed out in an attempt to scoop him over fine-leg, to leave Lungi Ngidi with 16 runs to defend against Kieron Pollard in the final over.

Pollard [87* off 34 balls] didn’t take a single on the first delivery but he brought the equation down by squeezing a near-perfect yorker by Lungi Ngidi wide of short third-man to bring up another boundary.

It was Pollard’s day and he made sure he made Chennai Super Kings pay for the drop as he smashed the full-tosses by Lungi Ngidi for a four and a six before claiming a double on the final ball to seal an epic win for the Mumbai Indians.

 

Whirlwind knocks from Moeen Ali, Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu propelled Chennai Super Kings to 4/218 against Mumbai Indians

Batting first, Chennai Super Kings were dealt with a body blow in the first over of their innings when in-form opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad, in an attempt to clip Trent Boult on the leg-side, proceeded to get a leading edge and give an easy catch to Hardik Pandya at short-cover.

But, the wicket did not have any effect on their powerplay as Moeen Ali went hammer and tongs against the likes of Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis (Image Credit: Twitter)

Faf du Plessis started the onslaught by smashing Kulkarni for a four and a six in the second over, post which Moeen Ali, proceeded to take center-stage.

Ali smashed three fours and a couple of sixes in the next four overs as Chennai Super Kings finished the powerplay at 1/49. Rahul Chahar bowled a good first over after the powerplay in which he gave away just 5 runs but Ali once again.

Moeen Ali, Jjasprit Bumrah
Moeen Ali smoked a whirlwind 36-ball 58 [Image-IPLT20]
Ali smashed three more sixes in the next four overs and in the process, he raced past his maiden 50 for Chennai Super Kings in just 33 deliveries with a single in the 10th over and he celebrated that by smoking James Neesham for a couple of fours to take CSK’s total to 1/95 at the halfway mark.

Faf du Plessis, on the other hand, continued to live a charmed life as he survived the caught-and-bowled chance by James Neesham followed by a close run-out chance in the 10th over.

He broke the shackles in the 11th over by pulling Jasprit Bumrah for a couple of disdainful sixes before drilling the yorker past third-man for another four.

Bumrah, however, came back brilliantly as he dismissed the dangerous Moeen Ali, who in an attempt to late-cut the pacer past third-man, ended up nicking it to De Kock.

The dismissal of Moeen Ali triggered a mini-collapse for CSK as Kieron Pollard followed Bumrah’s over with a couple of key wickets in the form of Faf du Plessis (50 off 28 balls) and Suresh Raina within a space of two deliveries, reducing Chennai Super Kings from 2-112 to 4-116 in no time.

It could have become even more worse for Chennai Super Kings in Pollard’s next over when Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged LBW by the umpire but the southpaw survived on review as the ball had clearly pitched outside leg.

Jadeja survived another scare after he offered a tough caught & bowled opportunity.

Ambati Rayudu, Jasprit Bumrah
Ambati Rayudu smashed a whirlwind 27-ball 72*

But just as it looked like Mumbai Indians were asserting their authority on the game, Ambati Rayudu launched a stunning assault as he smashed Dhawal Kulkarni and Jasprit Bumrah (1/56)- who registered his costliest figures in his IPL career- for three sixes and a couple of boundaries in the 16th and 17th over to race to 42 off just 17 balls.

Rayudu then laid into Trent Boult as he smashed him for a couple of sixes and a four to get past a 20-ball 50 as Chennai Super Kings hammered their way to 4/194 after 18.

The right-hander ensured that CSK finished on a high as he racked up a four and six off Dhawal Kulkarni on the final two deliveries of the innings to end at a 27-ball 72.

Thanks to Ambati Rayudu’s onslaught, Chennai Super Kinga smashed 82 runs in the last five overs to finish with 4/218 in 20.

 

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

 

 

https://twitter.com/DanCricket93/status/1388495698870538244?s=19

https://twitter.com/The_Hitman_Era/status/1388504199051108355?s=19

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