Form still eluding Pollard but Mumbai win
KIERON POLLARD’S nightmare Indian Premier League campaign continued yesterday, the former West Indies white-ball captain recording yet another failure in spite of Mumbai Indians’ second win on the trot.
The 34-year-old scraped only four as Mumbai rallied to 177 for six off their 20 overs at Brabourne Stadium, Ishan Kishan scoring 45, Tim David 44 not out and captain Rohit Sharma, 43.
Leaders Gujarat Titans, featuring West Indies paceman Alzarri Joseph, then came up five runs short to slump to only their third defeat of the season.
Wriddhiman Saha top-scored with 55 from 40 balls in a 106-run opening stand with Shubman Gill who made 52 from 36 balls – both batsmen striking half-dozen fours and two sixes.
But once Pollard pouched Gill at long on in the 13th over from leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin (2-29), Titans became unstuck and amazingly, the nine runs needed from the final over failed to materialise.
Sent in earlier, Mumbai had flourished through Kishan and Rohit who put on 77 for the first wicket before a rot sent in, four wickets tumbling for 45 runs in 45 deliveries.
Pollard was among the casualties, the right-hander comprehensively bowled by leg-spinner Rashid Khan in the 15th over.
The Trinidadian has a season best of 25, along with 129 runs at a miserable average of 14 and a strike rate of 109.
David and Tilak Varma (21) came to their side’s rescue, however, putting on 38 for the fifth wicket to fire Mumbai past the 150-run mark.
Joseph claimed one for 41 from four overs.