Mumbai Indians assistant coach Robin Singh feels that a player like Kieron Pollard is valuable to any T20 side, as he has the ability to make any opposition jittery with his big-hitting prowess.
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The big-built Trinidadian all-rounder hit six sixes in his 17-ball-51 to help Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets in a tricky Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
"What is really important that when you have someone like Pollard coming in at the back-end and you have Jos Buttler just ahead of him, oppositions are never safe with any sort of score on the board. As you saw, it's just the question of one over in the game which changes the course of the game; people like Pollard actually you need to have in any team," Robin Singh said.
"His (Pollard's) game has matured over the years (and) in the last season he played similar knocks like this night compared to initially when he came in. He can take the game right down till the end and he has understood the responsibility, not just as somebody who can just strike the ball but actually somebody who is critical to the side. More importantly, it is sending jitters to the opposition," he added.
Robin also revealed that Pollard has worked hard on a rehab programme to get fit in time for the IPL.
"I think he is okay; may be his injury is just getting over. In a situation where he has come back to play much earlier than what we expected, he has done a lot of rehab, we are pretty satisfied; even the trainers are satisfied with his fitness."
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma also lavished praise on Pollard for his blistering knock.
Rohit, who struck up an unbeaten 72-run stand with Pollard for the fifth wicket to help them seal the victory in the 18th over, said the Caribbean all-rounder was peaking at the right moment.
"It was a good game and we wanted this win badly. We stuck to our plans though we dropped a lot of catches. We batted brilliantly. Pollard's form was crucial and he is peaking at the right time. This is going to be our last game here. The support has been superb here. They have been wanting to see Pollard fire," said Rohit, at the post-match presentation ceremony.
While chasing a target of 175, Mumbai required 69 runs from seven overs when Pollard joined opening batsman Rohit in the middle.
As Rohit (68 not out) continued to dominate with his fourth consecutive half-century of the tournament, he received able support from Pollard, who roared back to form with a 17-ball 51, which included six sixes and two fours.
Mumbai climbed to third in the points' table after winning their fourth game out of eight they played so far.
