Kieron Pollard’s explosive hitting skills once again came to the fore in the 12th match of CPL, as he lived up to the tag of being one of the greatest power hitters in cricket. In a very crucial takedown between TKR and Saint Lucia Kings, TKR needed 27 runs from 12 balls. At that very juncture, it was time for captain Pollard to steal the show, playing against Matthew Forde.

An excellent innings from Pollard, with a dot delivery to start with, but off the second, belted a huge six over deep backward square leg. The third delivery was another dot ball, but the next three balls were three successive sixes, each one a classic Pollard powerhouse down the ground. These blows sealed it for TKR, chasing down the target in the last over.

Kieron Pollard’s pyrotechnics were a testament to the fact that the big-hitting all-rounder is still extremely skilled even as he reaches the business end of his career. That he did so at a high-pressure juncture, with a quite astonishing 52*off just 19 balls, underlined his quality, as it propelled his side to their second win of the season in three matches.

The St. Lucia Kings set up a pretty decent score of 187 in the match, Roston Chase scoring a half-century for them, whereas TKR got off to a brisk start, young Parris playing a rapid fifty off just 20 balls-and then after that, it is never really out of their grasp. At vital junctures, the Kings did work their way back into the game with breakthroughs but four sixes from Pollard in the 19th over sealed the deal for his victorious side.