IPL table-toppers Mumbai Indians might have suffered back-to-back defeats after securing a play-off berth, but there was no need to press the panic button, said West Indian Kieron Pollard.
Mumbai Indians lost by seven runs last night to Kings XI Punjab in a high-scoring game here. "It shows we are humans and can't win every game. As I said we keep improving. We had sort of a dismal performance against Sunrisers (Hyderabad). We have bounced back pretty well on a good wicket. We fought," said Pollard, who blasted an unbeaten 50 in 24 balls for a lost cause. "We are playing against opposition, professionals in their own right. It's not always you will turn up and win a cricket game.
"(But) there is no need to panic. We will keep our heads high. We have qualified and the first step in every tournament is qualification. We have not taken our foot off the gas. "(Loss) Just shows we can make mistakes as well. We lost two games in a row. If we pick up momentum and win the next three, then you will be asking how is the championship feeling," he retorted when asked how back-to-back losses could affect the team going into the play-offs. The two-time champions began their campaign with a loss to Rising Pune Supergiant, had a great run of six successive wins before their trans-Sahyadri rivals again stopped the spree by beating them at the Wankhede Stadium here. From then on it has been a mixed bag and the worst show was against the Sunrisers in Hyderabad when they were tied down to a low score of 138 for seven which was easily overhauled by their rivals with seven wickets to spare. Thursday, on an off day for most of their bowlers,
MI allowed KXIP to rattle up a season-high score of 230-3 and then came very close to achieving the highest-ever successful run-chase in IPL history by reaching 223-6, thanks to opener Lendl Simmons' 32-ball 59 and Pollard's blistering knock that contained five towering sixes.