Kieron Pollard.
Kieron Pollard. Image Credit: X

Kieron Pollard, one of the renowned aggressive cricketers of T20 cricket, was struggling with his batting for Southern Brave against Trent Rocket during the ongoing season of ‘The Hundred’ 2024 at the Rose Bowl ground in Southampton.

He had already been in the situation many times where the team wasn’t scoring freely and had been losing wickets from one end, as the pressure of the required run rate shouldered upon him. And in that moment, under pressure, Kieron Pollard has taken his side over the line on many occasions.

But at the age of 37 years, having taken retirement from international cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL), a few speculated if the Trinidad all-rounder could do the job successfully again, and in just a few minutes, he proved all of them wrong.

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Winning the toss, Lewis Gregory, the captain of the Rockets, decided to bat first on a surface that was quite dry and slow and looked to get more difficult under the sun in the second innings. They made a great start in the game with 46 runs without any damage in the first five and a half sets.

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But once they lost opener Tom Banton, they fell like a pack of cards as the middle order could hardly contribute largely. In the next 23 balls, they lost three wickets and could manage only 26 runs. The current captain of the West Indies T20I side, Rovman Powell, struggled in the middle for timing, while a few poor catch-drops, including the one from Kieron Pollard, gave the opponents some respite.

The touring side somehow pushed them to reach 126/8 at the end of 100 balls in the innings, and the only way they aimed to win the game was by taking regular wickets.

Just like the first innings, Brave had an excellent opening stand of 43 runs in the first five sets before they lost six wickets in the next 50 balls, having notched up only 35 balls on the board. The run rate was getting higher, and the former captain of the Caribbean side was losing his partner. At one point in time, they needed 48 runs in the last 20 balls.

It was obvious for the opponent captain to bring their best bowler, Rashid Khan into the attack against Kieron Pollard, the only person who could steal the game from that position.

The first ball was on the stumps, as the giant West Indies all-rounder pulled it over deep mid-wicket for a six. The second one was a tossed-up leg break as the batter, with his power, sliced it over the rope for the same result. The third ball was a fuller one, and the 37-year-old made room to nail it over long-off region for the same result.

Rashid came under pressure and, as all the spinners do at this moment, fired the fourth delivery on the middle, as the right-handed batter went back to nail the pull over deep mid-wicket for fourth consecutive sixes. The Afghanistan captain tossed it up again as he saw the ball being lifted over long-off by Kieron Pollard, who ended with a knock of 45 runs in 23 balls at a strike rate of nearly 200.

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“Lucky enough to play a lot against him, (Rashid) He is a world-class bowler and got me out a lot of times as well. I just backed my strength, which is to hit straight, and he bowled three full balls in my arc. This is one of those days I get to stay on the other side.” The veteran all-rounder expressed about the battle at the end of the game.

Southern Brave holds their second position in the points table with five wins in seven games, while Rockets find themselves in the fifth rank with three victories.