"2013 IPL final vibes!"- MI fans thrilled as Kieron Pollard goes bang bang

Kieron Pollard smoked Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two sixes off the final two balls to give the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) much-needed momentum going into the second innings. The 33-year-old's excellent cameo of 35 has helped MI get to a competitive total of 150-5 in their 20 overs.

The pitch at the Chepauk in Chennai has certainly not been a belter as batsmen have found it difficult to chase down totals in and around the range of 150-160. That makes this score a really handy one for MI, especially given the fact that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have lost both their games chasing this season.

SRH collapsed from a winning position in their last game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they lost 7 wickets for just 27 runs. They fell short of RCB's supposedly under-par total of 149 by six runs. This is something that could keep MI upbeat as they come out to defend this total.

Twitter reacts to Kieron Pollard's late flourish

Kieron Pollard was certainly struggling to get accustomed to the slow pitches of Chennai and it was evident in the first two games. However, in this innings, he took some time to get his eye in and paced his innings to perfection.

Fans were impressed by Kieron Pollard's vital knock as they took to Twitter to hail the hard-hitting West Indian. Here is what they had to say:

200th six for Kieron Pollard in IPL - one of the legends in this league.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 17, 2021

Most sixes in IPL history:Gayle - 351Devilliers - 231Rohit - 217Dhoni - 216Pollard - 201Kohli - 201

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 17, 2021

Pollard is the most important finisher for #mi in any given condition,For years now #quality #200sixes

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 17, 2021

When Pollard plays decent amount of deliveries, he always gets the job done, most reliable T20 batsman ever

— Nitin (@LoyalMIfan) April 17, 2021

Kieron Pollard is the 3rd fastest in terms of innings to smash 200 IPL sixes. Chris Gayle reached this milestone in 68 innings, AB De Villiers 137 innings and now Pollard in 150 innings.

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 17, 2021

Kieron Pollard - The finisher - 35* from 22 balls with back-to-back sixes helped #MI to post 150 for 5 from 20 overs.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 17, 2021

Last two balls Six of Pollard's reminds me of 2013 IPL Final.

— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) April 17, 2021

Very good decision by #MI and Rohit to send Pollard at 5, he is more capable to take time and finish like this. They should continue this throughout the tournament.

— Bhawana (@bhawnakohli5) April 17, 2021

When Pollard gets the last two balls of the over,it has become a tradition that they're going to be deposited into the stands.2013 IPL Final vibes 🥶#MIvSRH

— SHUBHAM (@RohitianShubham) April 17, 2021

The last two strikes from Pollard transforms a 140-ish score to 150-ish score at the tricky Chepauk pitch.Things won't be easy for #SRH who have got 3 things to worry atMiddle orderChepauk pitch with old ballMI bowlingTheir top order need to score bulk of runs

— Ajay Srinivasan (@Ajaychairman) April 17, 2021

MI seem to have learned their lesson about how to pace their innings on such a sluggish pitch. Their first two games saw them lose momentum towards the end and thus, MI had done the hard work of keeping wickets in hand this time around.

However, they lost a set batsman in Quinton de Kock at the wrong time and Kieron Pollard walked out to bat with about six overs to go. The 33-year-old struggled to get used to the pace of the pitch at first, but a 105-metre six off Mujeeb Ur Rahman's bowling saw the hard-hitting right-hander get in his groove.

Some excellent death bowling from SRH again saw MI lose their momentum. But Kieron Pollard's two maximums right at the end have given a feeling that his team might just have their noses in front at the halfway stage.

With the pitch almost certain to slow down even further, it will be interesting to see how SRH approach this tricky chase.