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After his 77 helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a narrow seven-run win, explosive batter Glenn Maxwell on Sunday said that he enjoyed batting at No. 4 for RCB.
Fiery half-centuries from Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, followed by a three-wicket haul from Harshal Patel helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 7-run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 here at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. Maxwell was pleased to bat at No. 4 and said that management has always believed in him. Maxwell stated that the conditions were batting-friendly, allowing him to play aggressively. "(On batting at number 4) It's a position I don't mind batting, I have done it for Australia when we lose early wickets. They have given me the freedom to go out there and express myself. Came into the season with good form, and have that trust from the changeroom, that makes the difference. New ball skidded on nicely, so we had to be busy and proactive. I think the way we ended the powerplay set the foundation, although there was a bit chaos in the end," Maxwell said at the post-match presentation. Maxwell arrived at the crease in the third over of the innings and got into the groove straightaway with a couple of fours off the Boult over. Maxwell brought up his fifty (off 27 balls) in style with a thumping hit over long-on. Ravichandran Ashwin had Maxwell (77 off 44) caught at the backward point off a reverse sweep. "(On the way he got out) I felt it was my job to bat deeper, it was a match-up that suited me and there was some poor execution on my part. I thought if I could just take a single, maybe I could have been useful towards the death overs. Allow the new batters to settle while I could attack. However, in the end just really happy with the win," Maxwell added. Coming to the match, Chasing 190, Rajasthan Royals didn't get off to the best of starts as they lost Jos Buttler off the fourth ball of the match, cleaned up by Mohd. Siraj. Yashasvi Jaiswal then counter-attacked with four fours in three overs. And Devdutt Padikkal too chipped in with four well-placed fours. Jaiswal hit a huge 81m six off Maxwell as RR reached 41/1 at the end of the Powerplay. The duo kept the runs flowing, hitting at least one boundary every over as they accumulated 51 runs off the next four overs to take RR to 92/1 at the halfway mark. Padikkal brought up his fifty off 30 balls but he departed soon as David Willey finally provided a crucial breakthrough, having him caught at long on for 52(34). RCB tightened things up and the pressure got to Jaiswal as he holed out in the deep for 47(37) off a slower ball from Harshal Patel. RR could manage just 16/2 in the 11-14 over phase. Samson then finally released the pressure valve hitting a four and a six off Wanindu Hasaranga and then a four against Harshal Patel. But the RCB pacer hit back hard off the next ball, having Samson caught at short third man for 22(15) as the equation read 61 needed off 24 balls. Dhruv Jurel injected much-needed momentum as he hit two fours off Siraj and took 15 from the over. A topsy-turvy over followed as Jurel hit a six first ball off Willey but then a sensational direct hit saw Suyash Prabhudessai run out the dangerman Shimron Hetmyer as the equation came down to 33 off 12. Siraj started off the penultimate over well giving away just five off the first four balls but then Jurel hit a flat six, flicking one over long leg for a six. A quick couple off the last ball made it 13 off the over. With 20 needed off the last over, Ashwin top-edged a slower delivery from Harshal Patel over the keeper for a streaky four off the first ball. Ashwin dug a yorker to the leg side off the next ball and scampered through for a couple as RCB missed a run-out chance. Ashwin swiped the third ball wide of short fine leg for a four to bring the equation down to 10 needed off 3. Harshal's slower finally worked as he had Ashwin caught at deep mid-wicket off a mistimed heave. RR sent Impact Player Abdul Basith at No 8. And he could take just a single off the pull off his first ball as the Bengaluru crowd roared. With 9 needed off the last ball, Jurel cut one straight to point for a single as RCB won by seven runs. Jurel remained unbeaten on 34 off 16. (ANI)
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