IPL 2021: Unbelievable – Gautam Gambhir heaps praise on Glenn Maxwell’s knock against PBKS

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has heaped praise on Glenn Maxwell for his match-winning knock against Punjab Kings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Maxwell was able to hit the ground running against PBKS and launched his attack against the opposition after getting his eye in.

The right-hander scored a fine knock of 57 runs off just 33 balls as he scored three fours and four sixes. The Australian scored his runs at an impressive strike rate of 172.73 and played a key role in helping RCB post a par score of 164 runs, which is the highest of the season at the aforementioned venue.

Maxwell added 73 runs with AB de Villiers as he did the bulk of the scoring in the fourth wicket alliance. This was Maxwell’s fifth fifty of the season as he continued his good form in the ongoing season.

Maxwell has thus far scored 407 runs in 11 innings for RCB at an impressive average of 40.70 and a blistering strike rate of 145.36 in IPL 2021. Furthermore, he has also done a decent job with the ball and thus has played an instrumental role in the success of RCB in the ongoing season.

Gautam Gambhir said while talking to Star Sports, “Unbelievable and not only because he played the big shots but the way he played those big shots. The two shots he played against Bishnoi and the two shots he played against Harpreet Brar and despite that he looked in total control.”

“He accelerated just when it was required to do so. I feel the 165 runs that were scored, when Moises Henriques bowled a fantastic spell at one point, it seemed at that time they will not score more than 130 or 140.”

Gambhir added that the pitch doesn’t matter for a batter like Maxwell as he will hit the ball out of the ground if it is in a slot. The former KKR skipper also lauded the partnership between Maxwell and AB, which helped RCB get past the 160-run mark.

Gambhir said, “But this player, if you are in this kind of form and you have the ability like that, then the wicket does not matter because you have so much strength that if it is in the slot, then whether the wicket is gripping, whether it is slow or fast, it will go out of the ground only.”

“It was a genius partnership because all those runs would not have been scored if AB de Villiers’ support was not there. After AB de Villiers’ dismissal, only that one six was hit off Shahbaz Ahmed’s bat. However many runs AB de Villiers might have scored, the threat to the bowlers was very important.”

The Virat Kohli-led team will next face Sunrisers Hyderabad at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.