‘I was scared by the power of his shot’: Brad Hogg recalls being intimidated by Mumbai Indians batsman

IPL 2020: Hogg revealed how the big-hitting all-rounder tonked a ball bowled by him and just the sheer power behind the shot had the bowler second-guessing his tactics.

Former wrist-spinner Brad Hogg recalled an instance when he was intimidated by the power of Mumbai Indians batsman Kieron Pollard. Hogg revealed how the big-hitting all-rounder tonked a ball bowled by him and just the sheer power behind the shot had the bowler second-guessing his tactics.

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“It was game 12 in the IPL 2012 and we were playing the Mumbai Indians in the Wankhede Stadium. Rayudu and Pollard had been building a partnership and I had been brought into the attack. I was concerned about Pollard’s big muscles but with courage I pitched the ball up and bowled a wrong-un and Kieron Pollard absolutely loved it,” Brad Hogg said on his YouTube Channel.

“He smashed the ball straight down the wicket and instead of coming to me, it went to his mate Rayudu who was backing up. But I was scared by the power of his shot. I could have got the wicket of Pollard but I was scared.”

In the match, Hogg, playing for the Rajasthan Royals, finished with 2/31, but Pollard and Rayudu’s 96-run stand partnership helped MI post 197/6. Pollard scored 64 off 33 balls with six fours and four sixes as MI won the match by 27 runs. Hogg went on to highlight Pollard’s importance in the Mumbai Indians camp, saying the West Indies all-rounder keeps the team ahead of him, which is one of the reasons behind the team’s success over the past so many years. Having joined MI in 2010, Pollard has scored 2755 runs from 148 games with 14 half-centuries.

“Why have Mumbai Indians invested so heavily in Kieron Pollard? Firstly, because he is a team man. He puts the team first; he has great team values and puts his body on the line. That diving catches to left and to the right, for a big man he is very athletic and he saves a lot of runs,” Hogg added.

“The crowd gets involved whenever he is in action. And that is one of the major plus points for the franchise because it is not just about the cricket out there you need the entertainers to stand up and he is one of them.”