IPL 2021: Saurabh Tiwary Was The Backbone For Us In Victory Against Punjab Kings: Kieron Pollard

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard said that Saurabh Tiwary was the backbone of their victory against Punjab Kings on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. Mumbai Indians lost two early wickets while chasing a meagre score of 136 as Punjab’s young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi got the wickets of skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in successive deliveries in the fourth over.

Saurabh Tiwary batted well for us in the middle: Kieron Pollard

Tiwary batted sensibly and build some important partnerships with Quinton de Kock and Hardik Pandya to stabilise MI’s innings. The southpaw added 45 runs to the team’s chase before edging behind the stumps off Nathan Ellis’ bowling in the 16th over.

Pollard said that whenever Tiwary gets an opportunity to play, he makes it count and congratulated him for stretching the game for them in a tricky situation.

“Every time he’s gotten an opportunity for us, more often than not, coming out and churning out numbers of batting in those crunch situations. And that is a sign of a guy who’s focused on what he needs to do, sometimes he misses out for invariable reasons, but that’s the nature of team sports,” Pollard said in the post-match press conference. 

“But he came tonight in a pressure situation, losing two wickets in two balls, and he batted well for us in the middle. So congratulations to him and he was the backbone for us today, stretching the game and having the opportunity to try to win it at the back end,” he added. 

Kieron Pollard backs Mumbai Indians out of form players

Pollard was adjudged as the player of the match award for taking the wickets of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle and later hit 15 off seven balls to relieve the pressure off Hardik Pandya.

Mumbai Indians middle-order batters Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are having a tough time with the bat in the second leg of IPL 2021. Both of them haven’t scored up to their potential since the tournament resumed on September 19.

Pollard said that these players will need confidence by giving them examples of their past experience and find adequate solutions for them. The West Indies white-ball captain also spoke about how the opinions of experts make life tough for the players to perform.

“It’s just a matter of trying to give those guys the confidence to show that they have done it before and they can do it again, or finding the problems of what is actually happening and try to find the best solution.

“So that’s all it could be…These are guys who have done it for us time and time again. It’s difficult when you have a lot of other people on the outside as well speaking about it. 

“At the end of the day, these people speak and they don’t understand what persons go through as cricketers. So for us, it’s about backing individuals and trying to give them the confidence to do well because they are young, talented individuals,” the MI stalwart added.

Mumbai Indians won by six wickets as Hardik Pandya fired late in the innings with a 30-ball 40 runs contribution that helped the team gain two crucial points and keep their chances in the tournament alive.

Also Read: IPL 2021: I Don’t Have Pace, Swing And Seam But I Can Use My Brain And Get The Job Done – Kieron Pollard