Mumbai Indians’ Lendl Simmons, who played his first match of the season and straight away made an impact, was declared Man of the Match for his 66 off 43 balls as he setup his side’s crushing 146-run win on Saturday.
The diminutive right-hander said that his strategy was to go after the bowling during the powerplay overs, “I knew my opportunity would come some time. So (I was) just being myself today,” Simmons said. “I knew they have good fast bowlers, they have Zak [Zaheer Khan] who is very experienced, who will open the bowling. It was just a matter of time, of just picking the right balls ... [I had to] asses the wicket at first and then played my game, which is to tee off in the first six overs.”
Despite having established himself as one of the important members of the Mumbai Indians setup since 2014, Simmons has struggled to get a get a game. The 32-year-old revealed that he was waiting for the oportunity to come along, “I have been practicing hard. I have been hitting the gym, keeping my fitness up, waiting for the opportunity. It came today and I took it in both hands,” he said.
Simmons and Patel added 79 from 52 balls for the first wicket. The former smashed five fours and four sixes during his stay at the crease, “I’m good as a replacement player, it’s been good for me. Batting in the Powerplay and with Parthiv is always good. My game plan is to see off the first two overs and then back my shots. At first it was a bit slow, but dew came on, and then the shots were easy to play.”
As for the partnership with Pollard, which accounted for 59 runs from just 27 balls, Simmons said that the duo only had eyes ion the run-rate, “Batting with Pollard is good, we are accustomed playing together. We didn’t have a total in mind, we just had a mind towards keeping the run-rate up and not losing wickets at crucial times,” Simmons said, when asked about batting with his big-hitting compatriot.
During the match, Simmons also completed 1000 IPL runs, reaching the landmark in just 23 innings. He was the second quickest to achieve the feat.