IPL 2018: Need to take 10 wickets to win matches - Kieron Pollard on Mumbai Indians’ turnaround

Mumbai Indians’ all-rounder Kieron Pollard said his team has put the three close defeats on the trot behind them as they prepare to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium.

The defending champions Mumbai Indians are placed at the bottom of the IPL 2018 points table after a poor start in the 2018 Indian Premier League. Rohit Sharma’s side will be desperate to avoid a repeat of the 2014 edition where they lost their first five games before bouncing back.

“I don’t think we are down right now. If we were down, we should be home,” Pollard said. “We have got over that. We have had conversations going. We had talks at different levels of where we need to go forward and actually try and finish off games,” he added.

Pollard suggested the defeats have highlighted where Mumbai Indians will need to be more consistent with their plans. “Two of those matches were nine wickets. That is an area to improve. Take 10 wickets to win the match. It is just a matter of trying to be consistent in what you are trying to achieve, especially at the back end of the innings,” he said.

“I think 190-odd on any ground is sometimes defendable. Three games in a row, we have lost in the last over. If you guys (media) have any idea to tell us how to get over the line, if it happens again, give us an idea of what to do,” he added.

Krunal Pandya has been one of Mumbai Indians’ key player and Pollard defended the all-rounder who has not bowled a lot so far in IPL.

“There is no specific reason. There is a leader out there who makes the decision as to who bowls when. He (Rohit Sharma) didn’t see it fit that he didn’t bowl well. But I understand where you’re coming from. Krunal has played an important part for us as a bowler and I’m sure for the rest of the tournament you’re going to see more of him,” he expressed.

Talking about his record against Royal Challengers Bangalore — his 47-ball 70 last year after Samuel Badree’s hat-trick to win the match being the most notable one — Pollard said, “I’m always hungry to perform. For any individual, any cricketer performance is important. For me, what gets me going against any team are big players. Big players mean big games. These are the times you want to be counted.”

“If I could tell the future, I wished I could tell what would happen tomorrow and sit down with a broader smile on my face. But there are processes that you need to go through as a player. Think hard about the opposition, think what they’re going to do and see how you’re going to come back,” he added.