Kieron Pollard had a fight in MLC 2026, like he had with Mitchell Starc (Source: X)
Even at the age of 39, Kieron Pollard smashed a remarkable century on Sunday for Mumbai Indians’ sister franchise MI New York during their match in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026. Pollard, who retired from IPL on November 15, 2022, notched up his second T20 century in an illustrious career that will be remembered for ages.
While Pollard is known for being the ‘clutch God’ for Mumbai Indians, courtesy of playing significant knocks when required the most, he had an infamous heated altercation with Mitchell Starc, which often gets reminded of whenever there is a fight in the IPL.
A very similar incident happened on Sunday when Pollard was at the crease, and it was Asif Mehmood, the USA bowler born in Pakistan’s Sindh and who also played for the Hyderabad Kingsmen in PSL 2026 as a local player, who was on the receiving end.
Kieron Pollard Almost Throws Bat At Asif Mehmood
Batting on 21 off 19 balls, Pollard was at the crease, facing Asif Mehmood. He bowled a full outside-off-stump delivery, clocked at 139.8 kmph, which Pollard played straight to the bowler.
Immediately after collecting the ball, Mehmood threatened Pollard with a gesture to throw the ball at him. Pollard did not hold back, as he, too, took aggressive action with the bat, very similar to what he did when Mitchell Starc followed him at, despite him pulling out of the batting chance during IPL 2014.
Also Read: Kieron Pollard Becomes Leading Run-Scorer In T20 History; Faces Virat Kohli Threat
Fortunately for the bowler, Pollard controlled himself at the very last moment, so the bat stayed in his gloves instead of going towards the Pakistan-born cricketer. Nevertheless, it was enough to make headlines.
MI New York Lose In MLC 2026 Despite Pollard's Heroics
Pollard’s unbeaten 56-ball 100, which had 11 fours and four sixes, eventually went in vain for MI New York.
Batting first, Washington Freedom piled up 245/5, with Mitchell Owen smashing a spectacular 68-ball 155. In reply, MI New York could reach 215/6, with Corbin Bosch making an unbeaten 14-ball 35 to give Pollard support.
The other MI New York players, however, made little contribution to get the job done for the team. With that, they began the tournament with a loss, and moved down to the bottom of the MLC points table.
MI New York will next face Faf du Plessis-led Texas Super Kings, a sister franchise of MI’s biggest IPL rival, Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The match will take place at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas on Monday (June 22), as it will be Match 7 of the ongoing edition.
Under Pollard, MI New York won MLC 2025, that too by defeating Washington Freedom in the final. They only had one win in their first seven matches last year before pulling off a historic turnaround.
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