A special day, a memorable cameo, a remarkable result - this Sunday afternoon belonged to Mumbai Indians and Romario Shepherd. 

The West Indian all-rounder came out and inspired the Mumbai Indians to end our three-match losing streak in style - be it with the absolute monster innings he played with the bat (39* off 10 balls) or his vital wicket with the ball. His performance resonated well with the 18,000 kids who arrived as the special guests at the Wankhede Stadium.

Romario came out to bat towards the end of the 18th over, and from there on, it was building up to an absolute carnage.

"I know today a few balls could change the game, so I went in there to try and get as many (runs) as possible, especially in the last couple of balls. So I kept a clear mind and tried to hit every ball. It was good to see that it came off (well) for me," he said in the post-match press conference on Sunday (April 7).

Based on today’s grand show on debut, would Romario fancy batting around the fifteen-over mark when taking up finishing roles? The West Indian international tells us with an analogy.

“In the 15th over, you still have to bat and get used to the conditions. But whenever you're in the 17th over or stuff like that, you just go in with a clear mind to go and express yourself. When you're playing a bit tentative there, and maybe you can mis-capitalise on some delivery that you would generally hit. But when you're in the back end and know there are only 18 balls, (of which) you will only face about 7, 8 or 9 out of them, you have to maximise; try to hit as well as you can,” he added.

“Especially in the finishing role, there's a lot of pressure on us because everyone expects us to blast sixes. Some days, it'll come off; some days, it won't, and the next day, you never know, it could come off. So, these days, you feel special because you know what you did was exceptional.”

Shepherd replied humbly to the comparisons drawn with MI batting coach Kieron Pollard, looking up to him and replicating that finisher role that his compatriot had previously done in the Blue and Gold.

"Yes, I look up to him (Kieron Pollard). He's done fantastic things for Mumbai, which is similar to what I did today. So, when I got a call that I would play today, he (Pollard) told me to express myself before I went out to bat. So I went out there with a clear mindset, knowing that the coaching staff was backing me and the skipper was also telling me the same thing. So I went out and did what I was expected to do," he added.

Romario Shepherd's knock in MI colours today was memorable and will be remembered for quite a while. When asked what makes MI different from his previous IPL teams, he had one answer: Family.

“All big IPL teams are professional, and IPL is a big tournament. MI is more like a family. They try to push that family stuff and have been creating it publicly also because you see what they did today for the kids and to get them out in this sort of exposure. It is excellent because playing in front of kids is always fantastic. They give you the vibes, push, and support good cricket, so playing in front of them and doing what the owners do is great for the youngsters coming through. They can be at this game and watch how fantastic it was today because 200 runs on a wicket like that was great, and also, the way DC batted was good. They put us under some pressure, but you know, Bumrah did Bumrah things in getting us over the line,” he said.

The party must have started back in the Caribbean, and Romario expects nothing less, even if we’re still in the early hours of the morning out there.

“Everyone will be watching back home, especially when they have a West Indian player in Mumbai playing.”