‘A game is never over till it’s over’

DUBAI: Kieron Pollard is hoping that Saturday night’s sensational PSL victory against chief rivals Lahore Qalandars will shift the momentum in Karachi Kings’ favour.

The Kings seemed down and almost out but Pollard dispatched the last two balls of the crunch match for successive sixes to keep them in the hunt for the PSL crown.

“In T20 cricket these sort of games change momentum,” Pollard said after his team’s five-wicket win.

“Guys start to believe a bit more and that’s what we need in our dressing room. We had a frank chat today at the hotel and we knew we had to come up and come out big tonight. It’s a big task because to go all the way through now, we have to win four games but at the end of the day we live to see another day.”

Asked whether he was under pressure facing the last two balls and knowing that his team needed 10 off them, Pollard said: “A game is never over until it’s over. Pressure was always there. Once you’re batting pressure is always there. But as I said, you don’t stress over it too much. There are more important things in life than stressing over a cricket game so for me it’s about trying to execute”

Karachi dropped misfiring Chris Gayle from the playing eleven but Pollard was confident that his former West Indian team-mate will bounce back.

“Obviously it’s disappointing to see a fellow team-mate not play. Gayle is a big player in his right, his stats show for himself and I’m sure if he gets another opportunity in this tournament he’s going to win a couple of games and it might be when we need him the most, perhaps in the semi-final and final so let’s not count him out just yet.”

Brendon McCullum, Lahore’s captain, hailed Pollard for his match-winning knock.

“Obviously, Kieron Pollard is an incredible player. What he delivered at the end was something pretty special.”

Lahore are almost out of the contest but McCullum refused to criticise his players.

“I think, for the majority of this tournament, we have given good performances. We have run into some special individuals during the course of this tournament, but on another day we could have been sat at the top of the table as well, such is the nature of how close the games have been.

“In terms of tomorrow, we will just wait and see. It is out of our control now. It is not a nice place to be, but we will sit back and see what unfolds. “If we get another chance in this tournament, I guess beware the wounded team.”