Kieron Pollard
Yes, Folks! Yet Again the man who created a major difference between the performances of two teams was Kieron Pollard. Playing one handed jabs for sixes and bludgeoning the attack irrespective of the match situation is a characteristic of this guy. And, so he is a true match winner. The game transforms by itself: The bowlers devastated. The captain feels hapless and helpless! This is Pollard: Destructive, Antagonistic and carefree!
Well, Smith with his maiden century (107 runs off 133 balls) was also spectacular. But, all that was a prime matter of difference between the Irish and WI at Chandigarh was Pollard. His blitzkrieg knock – 94 runs off 55 balls consisted of 5 sixes and 8 boundaries. And, his innings was a crucial feature for WI to snatch the game from Irish in the absence of Gayle and no proper batsman below no. 5!
West Indies were bowled out for 275 runs in their 50 over quota. Chanderpaul’s innings of 35 off 62 balls was the only the only notable performance besides Smith & Pollard. KJ O’ Brien chipped with four wickets and looked good. But, soon the Pollard assault ruined his figures. At the end of the innings K Brien had conceded 71 runs off 9 overs he bowled and grabbed four wickets.
The rebellious Ireland looked to stabilize and fight. But, they kept on losing wickets which hurt them acutely. Joyce and Wilson were the star batsmen for Ireland. They scored 84 and 61 runs respectively at a healthy strike-rate. And, they also parted for Irish innings highest 91 runs. Other than that, there were just two batsmen who crossed the 15 run mark! Finally, Ireland team was bowled out for 231 in the 49th over.
The WI bowlers did well with Benn leading the attack. He clicked with four wickets at an economy of 5.3 in the ten overs he bowled. Sammy also did a great job giving off just 31 runs in his 10 overs quota and also chipping in with 3 wickets.
From the WI point of view Pollard is back to the business. His ability to turn the game in favour from nowhere is a big danger for the opposition!
And, Ireland though lost, displayed competence to live up against the top teams for the fourth time in a row.
And, what they have done today is ensured that their net run rate doesn’t fall off by a big margin. Hopes are still alive and we can expect them to enter the quarters!
Tags: Chandigarh, Cricket, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Ireland, Kieron Pollard, Mohali, West Indies, World Cup
