Mumbai Indians don’t need to panic over loss vs Kings XI Punjab: Kieron Pollard

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard believes that the loss against Kings XI Punjab on Thursday is not a cause for concern for his team ahead of the IPL 2017 play-offs.

Mumbai Indians lost their second match on the trot when they suffered a narrow seven-run defeat at the hands of Kings XI Punjab but Kieron Pollard feels it’s not a cause for concern with the 2017 IPL playoffs approaching.

Mumbai Indians player Kieron Pollard plays a shot during the IPL 2017 match versus Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai on Thursday. MI lost by seven runs in a tall-scoring contest. (AP)

Some lusty hitting by Pollard brought Mumbai Indians close to victory but he was denied a grand finish by Mohit Sharma. Despite defeat Mumbai Indians stay on top of the standings with 18 points followed by Kolkata Knight Riders (16 points), Rising Pune Supergiant (16), Sunrisers Hyderabad (15) and Kings XI Punjab (14).

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“There is no need to panic. We need to keep our heads up. We have qualified. First step in every tournament is to qualify. We haven’t taken our foot off the gas but it just shows that we can make mistakes. We lost two games in a row but we pick up our momentum and win the next three and you would be asking me how is the championship feeling,” said the Trinidadian all-rounder, who scored a 24-ball 50 at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

Pollard felt that it was a much better display by the Mumbai Indians than what the had against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“It just proves that we are humans. We can’t go on to win each and every game. But we will keep improving. We had a sort of a dismal performance against the Sunrisers and I think we bounced back well today and we fought. At the end of the day, we are playing against the opposition who in their own right are professionals. So, its not like you are always going to turn up and win cricket game,” said Pollard, who became Mumbai Indians’ top scorer in the edition with 349 runs from 13 matches.

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The West Indian added: “It was a great game of cricket with both sides. We call that as bowlers graveyard. Its good that we stuck to our guns. These are the games that you want going into the playoffs. (Wriddhiman) Saha batted pretty well. Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) as well. They took the initiative right from the start and we knew taht we were in for a tough game. Someone has to win and someone has to lose. In the end we were the losing side.”