IPL 2021: Glenn Maxwell scores 1st IPL half-century in five years

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell on Wednesday scored his first half-century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after almost five years. Maxwell recorded the same in an IPL 2021 league encounter against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). His last IPL half-century was registered back in the 2016 edition. Maxwell scored the same against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a game held at the Eden Gardens. The 32-year-old had scored 68 runs off 42 balls in the game against the Kolkata-based franchise. Maxwell smashed 59 runs off 51 deliveries in the clash against SRH. He was the top run-scorer in a crumbling RCB batting, helping his team post a defendable total of 149.

FIFTY!

The much awaited half-century for @Gmaxi_32 . This one comes after the 2016 edition of #VIVOIPL.

Live – https://t.co/kDrqkM24yz #SRHvRCB #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/BByV7taJmi

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 14, 2021

Maxwell stitched a partnership of 44 runs with skipper Virat Kohli, which helped the Bangalore-based franchise recover following the dismissals of Devdutt Padikkal and Shahbaz Ahmed. However, Kohli’s dismissal left the Australian stranded at one end, resulting in a score that was lesser than expected.

Chepauk Pitch Makes Maxwell’s 50 More Impressive

What makes Maxwell’s half-century even more impressive is the nature of the pitch. RCB and SRH battled it out at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. The track is notorious for being a batsman’s worst nightmare. Despite getting to a half-century, the Australian could not really let loose. A big reason behind that was of course SRH’s superb bowling and excellent fielding, but the pitch played a big part as well. 

SRH bowlers fully exploited the nature of the pitch to their advantage. All five bowlers used by David Warner picked up at least one wicket each. The pick of the bowlers was West Indian all-rounder Jason Holder who picked up three wickets for 30 runs. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was the most economical, bagging two wickets for just 18 runs in his four overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan and Shahbaz Nadeem picked one wicket each.

RCB’s poor batting performance will be a concern for Kohli.