If for a moment one would have thought Rohit Sharma and Lendl Simmons’ departure would have put the brakes on Mumbai Indians’ run-scoring, they would have had to think again. Kieron Pollard’s bat did all the talking in front of a packed Eden Gardens that cheered for every strike from the big man’s willow. Pollard along with Ambati Rayudu continued MI’s surge towards a huge total.

The pair put on a 71-run stand for the fourth wicket which had a mixture of power and finesse. Not once did they get off the boil keeping the run-scoring at close to ten runs per over at all times. If Rayudu was a mixed bag of innovations, Pollard stuck to his traditional method of raw power to send the ball sailing into the crowd.

For Pollard it was just another day at the office where he had found an able ally in Rayudu. “We never stepped off the pedal though we lost a couple of wickets in quick succession,” Pollard said, still soaking in his side’s second IPL title. “Me and Ambati Rayudu took a couple of overs to get our eye in and settle down.

Once that was done it was about going on from there. We both have batted well at the death often in the tournament. To take the team there till the end and put up a partnership was great for the team,” elaborated Pollard.

An 18-ball 36 scorcher meant Pollard had given the much needed fillip to the innings and the Mumbai Indians ended up with a mammoth 202 from 20 overs. The result, it was too steep a target for the CSK batsmen to chase and the team from Mumbai had just stamped their authority at a venue where they had won their maiden IPL title. Big man Pollard was over the moon.

“You can say that the Eden Gardens has almost become like our favorite ground. But at the end of the day you still had to come out and play good cricket. We lost an early wicket at the start but we did not let it slip from there.

Rohit Sharma and Lendl Simmons were exceptional. Simmons has been phenomenal for us ever since he came into the team. The bowlers and the fielders then round it off well.

It was a total team effort. Congrats to the guys.”Pollard himself has fond memories of the Eden Gardens.

After all he had bludgeoned the same opposition at the same venue two years back and that was in an IPL final too. “It is good to come into a game knowing that you have done well at this ground,” Pollard said. “But I wasn’t thinking too much about it.

It was about playing according to the situation and get to that total that we had in mind. We showed a lot of character tonight and as I mentioned it was a total team effort. I take back with me a lot of fond memories from here on.

Another IPL title at the Eden Gardens and hopefully next year or whenever we play the finals here again, Mumbai Indians will do the job once again.”Looking back at the season, Pollard believed this was the best he had batted in a long time. “I guess this the best I have batted in a very long time on a consistent basis.

For me it was a lot of hardwork behind the scenes in the nets. It has worked well for me. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come and hopefully I can continue this form in whichever tournament I play next,” smiled Pollard.

Mumbai Indians now have two IPL titles, two Champions league titles and Pollard has been a part of both. The Caribbean all-rounder was hungry for more though. “Two IPL titles, a lot of other domestic T20 titles in the bag and the long list of titles go on and on.

I thank God for that and I feel like I am a winner. I feel I am blessed. I hope I continue to do well for whichever team I play for and keep racking up titles,” Pollard broke into a jig.

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Source: http://www.iplt20.com/news/2015/features/6949/simmons-relishing-his-first-ipl-win