‘Thankful to the team management’

Mumbai: Mumbai Indians' star import, Kieron Pollard, finally made a telling contribution in his team's win over the Delhi Daredevils, and the talented West Indian was clearly happy about his performance during the post-match media interaction.

Excerpts:

On whether the team was peaking too soon
No, I think as a team it is about the right time because we want to win five games in a row. We lost a couple of games, we really went back and worked hard and we are now [getting] back that momentum. Hopefully that momentum can carry us all the way through the semi-final and hopefully win the semi-final and the final.

On coming good with the bat
Yes, I finally came through. I have been hitting the ball well and that’s what [was needed]. All credit must go to the management staff - they stuck with me right through [to] the end because they know what I am capable of and I just go out there and practice and I just try to play my game. If it comes off [then all’s well]. That’s how it goes - there are a lot of ups, there are a lot of downs, you’ve got to take it when it comes.

On being happy with the team’s overall performance
Yeah, I think everything has fallen into place as far as the team is concerned. But having said that, [in] each and every game there is room for improvement. We actually put down a couple of catches today and we could have dived around a little more in the field - but that’s just an eye opener. I’m sure we will go back and try and better that in the upcoming games.

On the Mumbai crowd
I think the crowd has been fantastic - they have supported us right through. All we wanted to do was try and play our best cricket and try to [stick to the] basics and win the game for them because they have been through thick and thin for us. So [it’s] just a matter of us continuing to play well when we go away from home as well.

On what was going through his mind during the last three overs of the game
Basically, coming on at the end of the innings you need to go and push it on. [In the] last few overs I read the situation and I just go and play my game and try to get a couple of runs for my team. It actually came off today so well done. But I think the guys upfront played well. We have been losing a lot of wickets in the middle and we are trying to achieve something differently. I think the guys batted differently and we know in general our batting is coming down to the end - we can score runs, we score runs in the first five we score runs coming on in the end so we just have to work on that middle period. I think it really paid off today – [Ambati] Rayadu and [Saurabh] Tiwary really batted well together.

On whether he would like to continue playing for Mumbai Indians or switch to some other team
Well, at the moment let’s concentrate on the semifinal, we are playing the semifinal and after that we will discuss anything after that.

On the gap between Mumbai Indians and other teams widening after this performance
Yeah, I think it has widened. What goes on with the rest of teams is not our concern - our concern is to just try and go out there and play cricket and [get the basics right] each and every time. [That’s how we’ve] qualified for the semis - it’s a matter of keeping our heads on the floor and really working hard because we don’t want to play such good cricket and then come and lose in the semi-finals. So that’s our main aim now - to try and peak at the right time and try to play our best game in the next couple of games going into the semis.

On whether the team is too reliant on a late surge by the batsmen
No, I think that is not really a concern for us. We are feeling [it] out and we have a couple of different partners for Sachin [Tendulkar]. It doesn’t matter [who performs] – [the aim is to] give everybody an opportunity to go out and perform and all we have to do is go out and play cricket on [that] day. Some days we get a good start, some days we don’t get a good start - that’s just a matter of [what happens] on [a player’s] day.

On Sachin’s advice to him
No, I just continue to back myself and play my natural game. No pressure, no anything – […] you know the type of player I am. I have the confidence to go out there and do it, so all hats off to the team management for sticking with me. I really appreciate that and hopefully we can continue to play as a team and do well the rest of the tournament.

On the possibility of him being promoted up the order given the kind of form he is in
Batting early or batting late doesn’t really matter to me - once the team is winning and I am contributing or whatever contribution I can make at that point in time with bowling or fielding [is enough for me]. It doesn’t matter to me going up the order and getting more batting – [I’m willing to do] whatever the team requires. The combination we have is a very good one. In terms of batting, we have [Saurabh] Tiwary and [Ambati] Rayadu in the middle and they have been doing brilliantly for us. That is not a concern for me, going on top to bat.