Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2021 player auction. They broke the bank behind Madwell who has blown hot and cold ever since his breakthrough season in 2014 for Punjab Kings. He scored a crucial 39 and added a 52-run stand with RCB skipper Virat Kohli. The franchise made a winning start in the season after they edged out Mumbai Indians in a close encounter.
Glenn Maxwell failed to hit a single six in the last edition of the IPL. In his first match in the season opener, he hit two sixes already. After the match, Maxwell got together with Harshal for a brief chat on the match and the Aussie all-rounder sounded relieved to have finally hit a six in the cash-rich league, after 1,079 days.
Maiden 5⃣-wicket haul ✅
Ending the 'SIX drought' ✅
Starting the #VIVOIPL campaign on a winning note ✅@Gmaxi_32 & @HarshalPatel23 recap @RCBTweets' thrilling last-ball victory. 👏👏 – By @28anand @Vivo_India #MIvRCBWatch the full interview 🎥 👇https://t.co/8bAko0HRSc pic.twitter.com/oZyDY7bXOY
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 10, 2021
Monkey Off The Back: Glenn Maxwell
“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,” said Maxwell in a chat with Harshal in a video posted on the IPL website.
Meanwhile, this was the first time that RCB won their season opener in the history of the IPL. Meanwhile, this was the ninth time Mumbai Indians lost their season opener over 13 seasons in the tournament.
AB De Villiers scored 48 off 27 balls as RCB managed to win the match in the final over of their innings. Earlier in the game, RCB medium pacer Harshal Patel took 5/27 to limit Mumbai to 159/8 after they batted first. This was the very first time any bowler took a fifer in the IPL against the five-time champions.
