Mumbai Indians (MI) batting coach Kieron Pollard revealed how his emotional talk fired up the team during their last clash against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK). MI ended their losing streak against CSK by registering a dominating nine-wicket win at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
CSK were restricted to a score of 176/5 batting first, and MI chased down with nine wickets in hand to register their fourth win of the cash-rich league.
After MI's win, Pollard said that head coach Mahela Jayawardene had given him the floor to do the team talk before the start of the game. "If you look at the start of the game, Mahela (Jayawardene) gave me the opportunity to speak to the guys," Pollard said on Star Sports. “One of the things I told them was, 'I'm fed up of telling Chennai well played over the last couple of years.' The way the guys went out today - very good.”
Pollard also revealed that the management wanted Suryakumar Yadav to stay on the crease as long as possible and that's why they promoted him to number three. The MI star batter was going through a rough patch from a long time but it seemed like he got his mojo back during the clash against CSK.
Suryakumar Yadav smashed CSK bowlers all over the ground. The star played an unbeaten 68-run knock in 30 balls, including five maximums and six fours. His second wicket partnership with Rohit Sharma, who scored 76 not out off 45 balls, pretty much sucked the life out CSK's cause. The pair put up an unbeaten stand of 114 runs in 54 balls.
After registering a nine-wicket win against CSK, MI shoots up in the points table tally. The five-time champions are currently on number six with four wins and four losses in eight matches. MI will now face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 23 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.