“Pollardesque” is a term added to the IPL Dictionary, thanks to the burly Trinidadian’s power-hitting at the Wankhede Stadium from 2010 to 2022. No wonder then that Kieron Pollard – now Mumbai Indians’ batting coach – was among the first ones to give fellow Caribbean Romario Shepherd a giant hug after Mumbai Indians won its first game of IPL 2024.

After all, Shepherd’s Pollardesque exhibition of brutal power had emerged as the difference between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. His unbeaten 10-ball 39 – including 32 runs off Anrich Nortje in the last over of the innings – took the game away from the Capitals and also helped him earn his maiden player of the match award in IPL.

Shepherd, the smiling assassin, was thrilled to have been able to fill into the big boots of Pollard. “Obviously, (Pollard is used to) doing fantastic things for Mumbai, similar to what I did today. When I got a call that I was going to play today, he told me to express myself before I went out to bat,” Shepherd said.

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“Obviously I went out there with the clear mindset knowing that, The coaching staff are backing me and then the skipper also told me the same.”

Having notched up the highest strike rate for an innings with at least 10 balls, Shepherd hoped that he could continue to contribute and help MI pave its way back in the league.

“It hasn’t like soaked in as yet, what I did today. First of all, the win was more important than anything today because we are in a bad position as a team. So we needed a win and the coaches and all, everyone was acting for someone to be a hero put up there and with a great performance,” he said.

“Obviously today I did well, so we have to continue this. It’s only one game so we know how far ahead we have to go with this momentum that we actually created today.”