IPL 2021: "He dropped Kieron Pollard and with it he dropped the game" - Graeme Swann on Faf du Plessis
Former England cricketer Graeme Swann was disappointed with Faf du Plessis' drop off Kieron Pollard at a critical juncture in the game between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday.
With Kieron Pollard going all guns blazing, things seemed ominous for CSK, despite putting up 218 runs on the board.
Shardul Thakur was given the ball in the 18th over of the chase when MI still needed 48 runs to win. After being smashed for 12 runs off the prior three deliveries, Thakur created an opportunity off the fifth delivery.
Kieron Pollard edged a ball towards long-on, and it seemed as if the bowler would have the last laugh, especially with a brilliant fielder like Faf du Plessis manning the boundary. But the South African ended up spilling the catch after putting in all the hard work to cover a lot of ground.
At the end of the game, Graeme Swann felt that was the deciding moment of the game.
"I don't care what you say about high chases and incredible strike rates; this (Faf dropping Pollard) was the biggest moment of the game. Faf du Plessis is undoubtedly one of the best fielders in world cricket; you can't argue that. He never drops anything, especially at the boundary ropes. And he dropped that just shows the pressure that he was in. He dropped Kieron Pollard, and with it, he dropped the game," said Graeme Swann.
I never thought I would ever see that: Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann added that one cannot afford to spill a catch of a player like Kieron Pollard. He mentioned that he never thought he would ever see Faf du Plessis drop a sitter.
"There is no way Mumbai Indians are getting over the line at that point. The ground is too small for Kieron Pollard. But it's not too small for everyone else. Other people missed catches - it's cool. Pollard missed catch - it's done. When he gave you a chance, it had to be taken. Weird to see that it was Faf du Plessis who dropped the catch and cost the game. I never I thought I would ever see that," Graeme Swann said.
Kieron Pollard scored an unbeaten 87 off 34 balls in the encounter and took MI home on the final ball of the last over.