Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who struck a 100-metre six in the first match of IPL 2021 versus defending champions Mumbai Indians, has said that hitting a maximum in IPL after 1079 days was like getting a monkey off his bat.
Notably, the star Australia cricketer scored 108 runs in 13 matches without hitting any six in IPL 2020. Maxwell was called a ’10-crore cheerleader’ by former India opener Virender Sehwag for his dismal performance last year.
His gigantic six off Krunal Pandya in the 11th over went flying over long-on and landed on the roof of the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The power behind the shot left RCB captain Virat Kohli visibly awestruck.
“It certainly felt good. I did not hit a single six last year, I did remind Virat of me not hitting a six last year. To hit one out of the middle, it is a bit of monkey off the back. It is nice to start well and to have the captain at the other end, it makes my job a little easier,” Glenn Maxwell, who hit 28-ball 39, told his teammate Harshal Patel during an interaction.
Harshal Patel, who became the first bowler to take a five-wicket-haul against Mumbai Indians on Friday, said that he was mixing up his deliveries to deceive the MI batsmen on a slow Chennai wicket.
Harshal Patel also hit the winning run after AB de Villiers’s departure on the 4th ball of the final over. 8 runs off 7 balls were needed when the Haryana cricketer joined Mr. 360 degree of world cricket. The 30-year-old ‘assured’ the global superstar of an RCB win upon his arrival in the middle.
