IPL 6: Mumbai Indians should realise there is no reward without risk
A packed Chinnaswamy stadium held its breath as Vinay Kumar ran up to deliver the final ball of the match and the mercurial Kieron Pollard prepared to somehow contrive a shot that would take that final ball past the boundary line. Needing 4 runs off the last ball, having already smashed the bowler for a four on the previous ball, the pressure was entirely on Vinay’s shoulders!
And boy did he deliver; a perfect yorker that limited Pollard’s option to nothing but a stroke that would get him a single. Mumbai had managed to go from needing 17 runs off the last two overs to losing the match by 2 runs, as the Royal Challengers grabbed victory from what seemed at one point a certain defeat!
Until the moment Dinesh Karthik decided that Dan Christian would be the target of his fury, the game was moving along at a slow pace; no explosive sixes and fours or exhilarating action that we come to expect from the shortest format of the game. Once Karthik unleashed a torrent of 3 consecutive sixes and then a four, Mumbai went from struggling to keep up with the required run rate to being in the driving seat.
While Karthik’s heroic effort should have propelled Mumbai to victory, their defeat was nothing more than a self inflicted wound, as they failed to seize the moment and unleash Pollard on the Royal Challengers. When Rohit Sharma was bowled out by Vinay Kumar in the 14th over, Mumbai needed 69 runs off 38 balls and it was the perfect opportunity to unleash the West Indian on the Bangalore team. They had 7 wickets in hand and more than enough time for him to settle in before going berserk. But they missed the chance and the rest, as they say, is history.
While it’s easy to blame Sachin and Ponting for a conservative start (by T20 standards), or Mumbai’s middle order for not being aggressive early enough, at the end of the day, they did what they were supposed to do, ensuring that Mumbai got a solid start and set a platform for someone like Pollard to come on and be able to play without having to worry about the consequences of losing his wicket.
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Mumbai decided against promoting Pollard up the batting order and paid the price for their cautious attitude. The most famous example was the 2010 IPL final where they decided to play Duminy ahead of Pollard, and it wasn’t until the 18th over that Pollard came on. But, by then, Mumbai needed 55 runs off 18 balls, and despite Pollard’s heroic effort of 27 runs off 10 balls before falling to Albie Morkel, Mumbai went on to lose the match by 22 runs.
Alongside the likes of Sehwag, Gayle and Watson, Pollard is among a rare breed of cricketers who are capable of taking apart a world class bowling attack with consummate ease. Making someone with such immense talent play so deep down the order is not only stupidity in terms of team strategy but also denying fans the chance to be entertained.
Mumbai might have one of the most talented squads in the IPL, featuring an eclectic mix of youth and experience, players who are capable of turning matches on their heads within moments. But even with the plethora of talent at their disposal, if they are not able to take a risk when they get a chance, there’ll will be no reward. Because, being able to take advantage of such moments is more often than not the difference between winners and losers, something the Mumbai team management should have learnt by now from bitter experience.