WI vs SL | Getting the opportunity to score six sixes was fantastic, opines Kieron Pollard

03/04/2021

Kieron Pollard, after scoring six sixes off Akila Dananjaya’s over, opined that it was fantastic to get the opportunity to score six sixes and join the elite league, especially in international cricket. He also credited Dwayne Bravo and Jason Holder for showing their experience during the run chase.

Despite the head start, where West Indies found themselves in a position of ace, at 52 for no loss in 3.2 overs, the game was far from over. Sri Lanka’s bowling attack made a strong comeback, with Akila Dananjaya accounting for the Windies top-three off successive deliveries put the hosts on the back foot. However, skipper Kieron Pollard, in a partnership with Jason Holder, turned the game around in the span of six deliveries, where he equalled Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh’s record of six sixes in an over.

Talking about his colossal hits to send the Sri Lankan spinner out of the ground, Kieron Pollard stated that it was great to get the opportunity to score six sixes off the bowler. He also insisted that this innings will certainly be up there as his best, especially given that he did it in international cricket, under tough circumstances.

"Obviously it's going to be up there. It is international cricket, this is not franchise cricket or club cricket. Getting the opportunity to do that was fantastic. And thank god for small mercies, giving me the strength to do that. So I continued to carry on to do what was required for the team at that point in time," Pollard said, reported Cricbuzz.

While that six sixes took the hosts closer to victory, it was far from a certainty when they lost two quick wickets, sending the batting unit into a mini-meltdown. However, the partnership between veteran all-rounders Jason Holder and Dwayne Bravo, who held the fort for nearly seven overs, took the Windies home.

"When you lose wickets... they had Hasaranga having a couple of overs to go. Guys were on their toes, just wanting to see him off. The total of 132 and the position we found ourselves in, gave us a bit of a nerve-wracking time. Having said that, the experienced guys [Holder and Bravo] pulled through for us,” he added.

The Windies skipper also expressed his delight over the win, adding that it was good to start off the series with a victory, setting the tone for the rest of the games during the series. However, Pollard noted that there was a ‘lot’ of room for improvement, with the new top-order in play for the Men in Maroon.

"It [the performance] was there and thereabouts. Most importantly, the objective of this first game was to win the game and I thought we did that. There are a couple of things to note - we haven't played T20 cricket for a while. We had a couple of guys coming back to the set up as well, so we'll take the win and have discussions about how we want to continue playing in terms of improving in different areas."