IS A MILESTONE, SAYS POLLARD

Mumbai, April 9: Kieron Pollard, who has become the first player to play 400 Twenty20 matches, on Monday said he celebrated the milestone by wearing the Mumbai Indians jersey with that number in the IPL lung opener on Saturday.

Pollard has so far played 414 T20 games, in which he has scored 8,048 runs, with highest being 89 not out and has also taken 251 wickets. Pollard's fellowWest Indian all rounder Dwayne Bravo also donned the Chennai Super Kings jersey with no. 400 on it in the IPL lung- opener to celebrate his own landmark of 400 wickets in T20 games.

“It is just something that Bravo and I came up with. He is the first bowler in T20 cricket to take 400 wickets, and I am the only player so far to play 400 matches. At the young age of 30, being able to play 400 matches, I think that in itself is a milestone in a format ( in which) none of us thought how much we would end up playing when we started our career in cricket. That was the reason ( to wear those jerseys),” Pollard told reporters here.

Pollard was speaking after launching ‘ AlphaBounce Beyond’, a running footwear by adidas, in presence of MI skipper Rohit Sharma. “As he ( Bravo) has said, in the next couple of games we are going back to our original numbers - that is 47 and 55,” he said.

The Trinidadian also said the feeling in the MI dressing room was one of confidence in spite if the one- wicket defeat in the league opener.