Pollard blitzkrieg powers Mumbai to last-ball finish against CSK

New Delhi: In a thrilling last-ball finish, Mumbai Indians (MI) beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 4 wickets in Match 27 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Delhi on May 1.

Kieron Pollard played a powerful knock of 87* off 34 deliveries as only he can and helped MI chase down a stiff target of 219.

MI openers – Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock bbegan briskly, scoring at roughly 10 runs per over in the powerplay. The boundaries were coming in plenty and de Kock was doing the majority of the scoring before Rohit took over. MI were 58-0 after 6 overs.

Shardul Thakur managed to break the opening partnership after Rohit fell to a catch by Ruturaj in the outfield in the 7th over.

MI got into deep trouble, losing 2 more wickets in the next two overs. Jadeja bagged Suryakumar’s wicket, caught behind.

Moeen dismissed de Kock by taking a catch off his own bowling, reducing MI to 81-3 at the end of 10 overs.

With the required run-rate climbing up, Pollard picked up speed, hitting Jadeja for 20 runs in the 13th over that included three huge sixes.

The West-Indian all-rounder slammed his half-century off just 17 deliveries, scoring mainly in sixes. After hitting two sixes against Ngidi, Pollard took Shardul to the cleaners,
scoring 23 runs in the 15th over.

Krunal helped Pollard with some improvised strole-play, smashing Ngidi even as MI required 50 off the final four.

Sam Curran broke the partnership, trapping Krunal lbw with a yorker. The left-armer conceded only 2 runs in the 17th over.

With 48 required off the 3 overs, it looked like MI was finding the target out of reach. But 17 came off Shardul’s over, and du Plessis gave MI a reprieve as he dropped a vital  catch in the outfield of Pollard.

Curran brought CSK back into the game in the penultimate over, bagging the wickets of Hardik and Neesham. It was now down to 16 off the final over.

Pollard again did the rescue act for MI with two fours and a six against Ngidi. With 2 runs required off the final ball, Pollard managed to push a yorker towards MI and managed to complete the second run, helping MI register an incredible win by 6 wickets.

Earlier, CSK, who were put in to bat first, lost Ruturaj Gaikwad in the opening over but du Plessis and Moeen Ali pulverised the Mumbai attack, with a series of fours and sixes. The fifty partnership was up for the second wicket and Moeen too Moeen reached his half-century off just 33 deliveries. du Plessis too was severe on Bumrah, smashing  consecutive sixes and a four. But once Moeen fell, MI seized momentary control. Pollard scalped two wickets in consecutive deliveries to send du Plessis and Raina back to the pavilion.

Rayudu and Jadeja piled on the runs with big hits.  Bumrah conceded 21 runs in the 17th over. 24 runs came off the final two overs as Rayudu rounded off the innings with a four and six each, helping CSK put a massive total of 218/4, which looked like a mountain too big to clib for Mumbai. However, Pollard had other ideas and powered the MI innings to victory.

Brief Scores:  Mumbai Indians: 219/6 (Kieron Pollard 87*, Quinton de Kock 38; Sam Curran 3-34) beat Chennai Super Kings: 218/4 (Ambati Rayudu 72, Moeen Ali 58; Kieron Pollard 2-12) by 4 wickets.