IPL 8: ‘Harbhajan Singh’s one over turned the game,’ says Kieron Pollard
Mumbai: India cricketer Harbhajan Singh – who plays for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – is having a sort of déjà vu. He’d forgotten to win matches for his team and be on a hat-trick before the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) tie at the Wankhede Stadium here on Tuesday. Teammate Kieron Pollard believes it was Bhajji (as he is popularly known) who turned the match for MI.
The off-spinner not only steered MI to the final of the T20 tournament, he also earned his position back in the Team India Test squad for the tour of Bangladesh as announced by the selectors on Wednesday.
IPL 8 CSK vs MI: Mumbai Indians book flight to Eden Gardens
“We wanted to start well. Bhajji’s one over (where he dismissed Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in consecutive deliveries) turned the match for us. Players like Raina and Dhoni can change the game in a couple of balls,” said Pollard.
The Caribbean went on to add that being under criticism was a blessing in disguise for the team that lost four matches in a row.
“It’s disappointing when people write us off after first few games but as Ricky Ponting said, we did not do much differently, just tried to play complete cricket,” he added.
“We looked at it as a boxing match. From the start of this month we knew we had to win one round after one round after one round. Getting that opportunity to finish second puts us in a position where we basically had to win two games to reach the finals,” said Pollard, who smashed a 17-ball 41 guiding MI to a competitive total.
However, Bhajji had a good start to the IPL with the bat too where he scored a 24-ball 64 against Kings XI Punjab in a pressure cooker situation. The all-rounder reached his half-century in 19 balls.
IPL 8: ‘I don’t mind batting up the order,’ says Harbhajan Singh
The turbanator – as he is called – has also been picking up crucial wickets. This season, he has 16 wickets under his belt in 14 matches.
MI hasn’t looked back since the away win against CSK in the league stage. Barring one loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore, MI beat Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad comfortably before meeting the Men in Yellow again for the playoffs.
So why did they leave their best for the last?
Pollard asserted that it is all about adaptation. “This is franchise cricket. As a group, guys come together three days before the tournament. The team that adapts quickly get the results faster. We should start the tournament with a higher percentage of win but if every year we get to the final doing what we are doing, we would rather do this,” said Pollard, adding: “ I thought 187 was a good total but CSK is a good team. They came and demolished us in the group stage chasing 184 under 17 overs.”
Talking about his own performance, Pollard added that he has been keeping quiet and trying to do his job despite murmurs from all quarters.
“People say I lack motivation, Pollard is a spent force, Pollard is done. But I know what I can do. When I had the time to bat, I batted and when it was time to go for the big ones, I did that. I’ve been targeted by the umpires too. But I hope at the end of the day it is enough for MI to take the trophy,” he said.
