After hitting a match-winning 44-ball 77 against Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) swashbuckling batsman Glenn Maxwell said he loved batting at number four for the Indian Premier League team and Australia. Apart from hitting six fours and four sixes in his innings, Maxwell laid the foundation for a 127-run partnership for the third wicket with Faf du Plessis (62 off 39 balls). In response to RCB’s 189 for nine wickets, Rajasthan’s team could only manage 182 runs for six wickets.
Maxwell said at the award ceremony after the match, “This is the order (fourth position) where I have no problem batting. I have batted down the order for Australia as well after falling early wickets. They (RCB) have given me the freedom to go on the field and bat according to my own. “He said,” I came here with good form. The team has shown faith in me, which makes a difference. The new ball was coming a bit late, so we focused on scoring quick runs. I think the way we finished the powerplay, it set the stage for a big score.
However, we lost quick wickets in the last over. RCB’s stand-in captain Virat Kohli also praised pacers Mohammad Siraj and Harshal Patel, apart from Maxwell and du Plessis. He said, “At the time of the toss, we were also thinking whether to bat first or not because the pitch was dry. But we knew later that it would be difficult to bat in the last 10 overs under floodlights. “Maxwell and du Plessis batted well,” he said. We thought 160 would be enough on this pitch but he took the team to close to 190.
