"It is not something that is foreign to me" - Glenn Maxwell on batting under pressure while chasing a high score
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Glenn Maxwell spoke about his explosive knock during the run chase against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday, April 17.
The Australian international walked into bat in the third over with the scoreboard reading 15-2. He got into the act straightaway with skipper Faf du Plessis, considering that RCB were set a 227-run target by CSK.
Maxwell ended up scoring 76 runs off 36 deliveries, a knock comprising three fours and eight sixes, before being dismissed by Maheesh Theeksana in the 13th over.
Recalling his century at the M. Chinnswamy Stadium during Australia's tour of India in 2019, Maxwell said during the post-match press conference:
"I think historically, whenever I have batted at No.4 with two wickets early in the game, I have generally played quite well. The pressure, the new ball swinging, it is a pretty familiar role that I have played, especially with Australia. Even on this ground in international cricket comes to mind. It is not something that is foreign to me, especially chasing the big total and having the boundaries short."
Maxwell scored an unbeaten 113 off 55 deliveries during the first T20I between India and Australia in Bengaluru in 2019. His knock helped the visitors chase down 190 with two balls to spare.
Crediting a clear mindset and his role within the team behind his performance, Maxwell said:
"I think just having a really clear mindset also plays a part and I know what the role I have to play in the side is. Batting together with Faf took a lot of pressure off me, was able to keep that momentum going in the back end of the powerplay and once we got out of the powerplay, it was about making sure to get the run rate ticking along.
"I felt like we got to a position where we were on top during our partnership. Unfortunately, all it takes is one error to bring about other errors as well."
RCB were well placed at 141-2 after 12 overs, but CSK clawed their way back into the game by picking up wickets at regular intervals.
The Men in Yellow bowled well in the death overs as well to restrict RCB to 218-8, ultimately winning the contest by eight runs.
"We were going as hard as we could to get the run rate under 10" - Glenn Maxwell
Despite the early wickets, RCB did not deter from their aggressive approach and piled on runs in the latter portion of the powerplay as well as the middle overs. They were cruising at one stage and were in the driver's seat with eight wickets in hand.
Noting that the ball started to grip a little bit as the innings progressed, Maxwell said:
"I suppose once the ball got softer, it just started to hold a little bit. We saw Jadeja get one past DK back at the end. So, there was a bit more assistance toward the back end. We were going as hard as we could to get the run rate under 10 and make it a little easier for the back end, but it was a pretty exciting game of cricket though. There is always going to be one winner and one loser, unfortunately."
Moeen Ali got some turn on offer in the solitary over that he bowled, with flight helping his case well. Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled at over 100 kmph, also got the ball to grip a little during the last couple of overs of his spell.