He came, he saw and he conquered. That was Kieron Pollard’s first foray into the Twenty20 arena in India. With T20 carved as part of his hairstyle, Pollard toyed with the New South Wales Blues’ attack, led by Brett Lee, in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in October 2009.

Three months later, he was signed by the Mumbai Indians as the most expensive signing in the third IPL player auction.

When it came to the Indian Premier League, however, Pollard didn’t really get going right from the word go. But knowing his abilities in all the three departments of the game, Mumbai Indians’ management persisted with him. And the patience was finally rewarded when Mumbai Indians took on a Virender Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils at the Brabourne Stadium.

Pollard showcased his abundance of talent with an all-round performance – most notably during his unbeaten 45 off 13 balls, to ensure top position for Mumbai Indians in the league stage. Pollard’s bombardment helped Mumbai add 50 runs in the last three overs to set Delhi Daredevils a difficult target of 184 runs. And then his two run-outs and a miserly spell of 4-0-15-0 ensured a 39-run victory for Mumbai Indians.

All through the 2010 season till then, the Paltan, along with hordes of media persons covering the event were asking just one question: When will Pollard explode? He himself had mentioned a week earlier, it was just a “matter of time” before he set the stage on fire.

The 22-year-old had given glimpses of his raw power, and utmost precision when it comes to timing the ball, in patches in the tournaments. But never before that evening had he single-handedly taken the game away from the opposition – something that he is best known for.

The Trinidadian took guard after Ambati Rayudu was dismissed off the last ball of the 17th over. And of the 13 balls he faced, four sailed into the stands while another went over the bar for the Cricket Club of India members, and rested in the car park. Besides these five towering sixes, he also hit two fours to ensure Mumbai Indians crossed the 180-run mark.

The 13 balls he faced turned out to be inauspicious for the Daredevils. Just when it seemed that David Warner and Virender Sehwag were looking set to make mockery of a Malinga-less MI attack, it was Pollard, who struck in the field. His immaculate throw from the deep caused Sehwag’s run out. Once they had got the breakthrough, Mumbai Indians restricted Daredevils to 144 for seven, with Pollard also enforcing Paul Collingwood’s run out with a direct hit.

The burly Trinidadian had finally announced his arrival. Since then, he has been going strong for MI!