Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard has been penalised by the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council over a Level 1 breach of the tournament’s Code of Conduct during a recent high-stakes encounter against the Punjab Kings on Thursday. The former West Indies all-rounder was fined 15% of his match fee and handed one demerit point following an outburst directed at match officials. While MI went on to win the match, registering their 4th victory of the campaign, coach Pollard’s conduct on the sidelines didn’t go down well with the match referee.
The breach occurred during the 19th over of the second innings. According to a release issued by the IPL, Pollard was found guilty of using audible obscenities aimed at the fourth umpire. While the specific nature of the frustration remains internal to the team, the intensity of the closing overs appeared to boil over on the Mumbai sidelines during MI’s tense chase of a 201-run target against PBKS.
Pollard was charged under Article 2.3 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials, which covers “use of an audible obscenity” during a match.
A statement issued by IPL said: “Kieron Pollard, Batting Coach, Mumbai Indians has been fined 15% of his applicable match fee and accumulated one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct for Players and Team officials.
“Pollard was found to have breached article 2.3 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which relates to “use of an audible obscenity during a match.” The incident occurred in the 19th over of the second innings when Pollard used abusive language towards the fourth umpire.
“Pollard admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Match Referee, Pankaj Dharmani.”
As for the match, Tilak Varma‘s 33-ball 75 helped Mumbai chased down what looked like an impossible total in the last three overs. He played confidently under pressure, finding boundaries regularly and rotating the strike well alongside Sherfane Rutherford. The pair steadied the innings and slowly pushed Mumbai closer to the target.
Varma shifted momentum completely with a massive 106-metre six off Chahal and followed it with another boundary in the same over. Rutherford also supported him well with a six before being dismissed by Omarzai for 20 off 21 balls in the 17th over.
Despite losing his partner, Varma continued attacking the Punjab bowlers. He reached his half-century in just 25 balls and remained unbeaten on 75. His match-winning innings included six fours and six sixes.
Will Jacks provided the finishing touch with a quick 25 off 10 balls as the Mumbai Indians successfully chased down the target in a thrilling contest.
With IANS Inputs
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