'Belief' Makes Mumbai Indians Thrive In Tough Times, Says Kieron Pollard

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard said that self-belief inside the dressing room no matter how challenging the circumstances is the reason for the side always finding a way out to emerge stronger.

The West Indian, who played a key role in the five-time champions' morale-boosting six-wicket victory on Tuesday against Punjab Kings after being down in the dumps following three successive defeats, when asked what is the mindset of the teams when there are must-win games, said, "I don't know if I can put it on record, but we don't actually plan for it to be like this because obviously there is a lot of pressure on us as cricketers to win all the games at the back end.

"But you know what we have in our dressing room is belief. Belief in one another and believe in the fact that in any given situation we can try to get ourselves out of it because we have guys who have been in those tough times in different scenarios and at different times," said Pollard, who was declared 'player of the match' for his two crucial wickets and an unbeaten 15 in the chase.

"So the biggest thing for us is belief and at the end of it, we have put ourselves in the position that we are in now and it is only us the players, management and everybody sticking together can actually get us out of this."

Pollard also termed Saurabh Tiwary a vital cog in the Mumbai Indians' set-up, saying he had done a good job whenever give the opportunity. Tiwary made a 37-ball 45 as Mumbai Indians reached the target of 135/6 set by Punjab Kings with an over to spare.

"I think Saurabh has done great every time he has got the opportunity for us. More often than not coming and churning out those numbers and batting in those crunch situations and that is a sign of a guy who is focused on what he needs to do. Sometimes he misses out for invariable reasons but that is the nature of team sports.

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"He came tonight in a pressure situation, losing two early wickets in two balls and batted well for us in the middle. I think, congratulations to him. He was the backbone for us today, you know, for stretching the game and having the opportunity to win it at the back end. So, well played to him and many more congratulations for other innings as well to come," added Pollard.