Former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard went ballistic at the Rose Bowl, Southampton on August 10 as he tonked Rashid Khan for five consecutive sixes in an over in the Hundred 2024 clash. Pollard was even struggling to rotate the strike before it became necessary for him to take the bowler on in order to keep Southern Brave alive in the run chase. Pollard enthralled the crowd with his power-hitting as he smashed five sixes in a row against third-ranked ICC T20I bowler.
Pollard scored 45 runs from 23 balls to single-handedly revive the run chase. He was adjudged 'Hero of the match' for helping Southern Brave win by two wickets. Pollard admitted that Rashid has got the better of him at times but the experience helped him play to his strengths.
“Played a lot against him (Rashid Khan), he has got me out on a lot of times; had to see what was happening, but I knew the sort of lines and lengths he is gonna bowl, and just backed myself if he bowls short I'am gonna go across, and if he comes full and I'm gonna back my strength which is to hit straight. He bowl three fuller balls and it was right into my arc, so I couldn't stop at that point of time. I had to get maximum. But again Rashid is a world class bowler...played a lot against each other,” the 37-year-old said in the post-match presentation.
Pollard unhappy with the approach in run chase
Pollard also admitted that he was slow to start. He was not happy with Southern Brave's batting lineup putting themselves in a difficult position.
“We shouldn't have put ourselves in that position but having played in such situations many times it is all about calculating what can be done. Hopefully some lessons learnt and we won't put ourselves in such a situation next time,” he added.
Pollard’s numbers
The 45-run knock is Pollard's highest score in the ongoing season of the Hundred. He has scored 155 runs from five innings at an average of 38.75 and a strike rate of 164.89. He is Souther Brave's second-highest run-scorer in the season.
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