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Pollard's hits are getting longer: Tendulkar
Mumbai: Mumbai outplayed Bangalore to successfully negotiate their first IPL semi-final and book their place in what will be their first final. The game changer for Mumbai was Kieron Pollard, who gave the innings an extra burst in the final few overs while batting, and whose 2nd over saw Bangalore lose 2 wickets in two balls to take their chase off the rails.
Losing skipper Anil Kumble pointed at those two moments as key reasons for Bangalore's loss.
"I think we gave away too many runs in the last 5 overs. Even my last over didn't go the way it should
have. But having said that, Mumbai played exceptionally well. We were going along fine till the 9th over
with 80 runs on board, but then those 2 wickets in 2 balls put us back. We were never in the hunt after
that," Kumble said.
"We thought the dew factor would help us, but their bowlers bowled really well. It would have been nice
to get to the final but the 3rd place match is a consolation for us, so we will try and win that," he added.
Winning captain Sachin Tendulkar was full of praise for the entire team, and singled out Ambati
Rayudu, Saurabh Tiwary and Kieron Pollard for special praise.
"I thought Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary's partnership was very crucial for us," Tendulkar said, on the
67-run stand that the young duo had put up off 8.1 overs.
"They showed a lot of character and mental toughness and their shot selection was terrific," he went on.
"And the final burst by Pollard gave us the right tone. Then there was some brilliant bowling as well."
Asked about the talented youngsters in the Mumbai side, Tendulkar replied, "I think there are talented
players in every team, but it's important to go out and deliver. And this is what Rayudu and Saurabh
have done consistently this season. We've banked on them and they have not disappointed us.
"Pollard's hits are getting longer and longer, and I hope it continues. It's wonderful to have somebody
who can smash the bowling attack at the end. He's an all-round package, and he's got a terrific arm as
well. While fielding he covers a lot of ground."
Tendulkar had sustained a hand injury while fielding, in attempting to catch an edge of Rahul Dravid,
but said although his hand was not great, he hoped to be fit for the finals.
"My hand is not too great at this moment. I've split my webbing and got 5 stitches. Hopefully, I will
recover for the final."
Man-of-the-match Kieron Pollard thanked his team-mates and management for their support and
credited the win to team effort.
"I'd like to thank my team-mates for their support," Pollard said. "and the management for sticking with
me. Hopefully, we can go one more in the final.
"The guys played really well at the top and set it up. My role was to go there and up the run-rate for my
team, and I did that. Getting a couple of wickets later was also good. But it was a terrific team effort from
each one of us.
"When I was in the dug-out, me and Bravo thought 160 would be a good score, but he just told me that if
they bat a couple of more overs and then I get to bat for the last few overs, we could reach 180. I just
backed myself and hit the ball."
Pollard looked to be in some trouble with his knee on the field, but he said he should be fit in time for
the finals.
"After running the first couple of runs, I kind of twinged my knee a little bit. But after a couple of days with
the physio, I think I should be alright for the final. I think the hardest game was this one, so hopefully we
can go one more in the finals."
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