Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard feels Rohit Sharma’s return to form was something he knew would happen and was happy that MI are getting their groove back when it matters.
Pollard was peaking to the media on the eve of their clash against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
“At the beginning of the season I answered that question and said that we are going to sing his (Rohit) praises and we always had that belief that he would come back. I would urge you guys to sometimes give people opportunity. As one who has played this sport for a long time you have these dips and sometimes you need that extra support from people. As a batting group we hope batters to perform at different junctures in the tournament.”
MI will be up against LSG on the back of four victories on a stretch and Pollard was elated with Mumbai’s recent purple patch.
“We have to deal with what’s in the present. I think we have recently found our mettle and it is good for us. It’s good to see guys and going out and performing the way they are performing, continuing to think about the past.”
Although the Hardik Pandya-led side are in fine fettle, Pollard felt there are certainly areas for improvement.
“Every time you play a game of cricket there are areas you look to improve. You are never really fully happy and you are always wanting for more and that goes for cricket and in life as well as a human being. Yes, there are critical junctures where we need to learn to win the moments. And the more we can do that consistently that will be good for us,” he added.
From a catching efficiency perspective, we are right up there at the top but we are not 100 percent and there is always room for improvement and bowling perspective as well in the last quarter of the match. We have to try to get better and see where it lands us.”
The West Indian refused to agree with a scribe’s query if the second half of IPL was more important than the first.
“Pressure is there both in the first half and second half. First half there is something to be written about. Second half you try and build a bit of momentum.
You have 14 games in the tournament and each and every game is important. Some teams gel faster than the rest. Some teams build momentum quickly and some teams do well coming into the back end. So there is no ‘more important’ part in the IPL. Most important thing is to qualify for the Playoffs and then reach the final and win the title,” he added.
