Mumbai Indians Played Near-Flawless Cricket Against Chennai Super Kings: Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard, who played a stellar role in Mumbai Indians' comprehensive win over Chennai Super Kings that paved the way for their entry into the final of IPL-8, says his team played near-flawless cricket at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. (Complete IPL 2015 coverage | Stats | Photos)

Mumbai Indians defeated two-time winners CSK by 25 runs in the first qualifier at the Wankhede Stadium last night, with Pollard blazing his way to a 17-ball 41. (MS Dhoni fined)

"We played one of our most perfect games today, barring a couple of dropped catches which obviously needs improvement. Having said that, coming out and winning that and going directly into the final from where we were, I think, is a marvellous achievement for us as a team," said the big-built West Indian all-rounder whose whirlwind knock included five towering sixes. (Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar lead fan-power at Wankhede)

The West Indian described veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's double strike to send back Suresh Raina and CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off successive balls in the 11th over as the turning point in the game. (Why Wasim Akram is impressed by Tendulkar Jr.)

"We wanted to start well, got a couple of wickets as well. Bhajji, of course, did not start well in the first couple of overs, but after that third over he changed the game for us. Getting those two wickets was absolutely masterly. Raina and Dhoni - they can change the game in a couple of balls," noted Pollard.

Pollard was alluding to MI's amazing run to the final after a very poor start when they lost four games in a row before getting their act together to notch up nine wins in the next 11 games.

MI rode on Pollard's end-innings belligerence following his Trinidadian compatriot Lendl Simmons' 65 at the top to rake up 187 for six, which proved too much for their rivals who folded up for 162 with an over to spare.

"187 was a good total. On this ground it was par. We had a couple of runs to play with. We knew Chennai is a good team. They came here during the league stages and demolished us.

"They scored 190 or 200 and they smoked it in 15-16 overs. We were up for a game, we knew what was in front of us and what we needed to do and as a team... I am stressing on team as it was a team effort, we are here where we are now."

While Harbhajan got 2 for 26, pace spearhead Lasith Malinga was the most successful bowler and returned figures of 3 for 33.

"It was a total team effort. He bowled well, Vinay Kumar bowled well, Malinga bowled well. Mitch (McClenaghan) went around the park but he got a vital wicket (Ravindra Jadeja) in the end. Everything adds up in the end.

"What's good for us is we won as a team - openers (Simmons and Parthiv Patel) set the foundation for us (with a 90-run stand). They have been doing that in the last couple of games. Yes, we got a bit of a stutter but this is what Twenty20 cricket is all about. It's all about playing as a team and finishing it off as a team," he emphasised.

Pollard described how the team turned it around after four straight losses.

"We looked at it as a boxing match. From the start of this month we knew we had to win one round after one round after one round. Getting that opportunity to finish second puts us in a position where we basically had to win two games to reach the finals. We spoke about (the need to) continue to be ruthless.

"It's good for us, but the most disappointing part is after first four games a lot of people had written us off. It was (also) a blessing in disguise for us. As (head coach) Ricky (Ponting) has emphasised, we have not done much differently. All we had done is come and play competitive cricket.

"Management, players staff everyone decided let's give it our shot and here we are into the finals. Congratulations to the team. We have played good cricket in last month or so."

To a query what the team lacked initially, Pollard alluded to the nature of the tournament.