As Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made it two in two in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Wednesday, Virat Kohli lauded Glenn Maxwell, saying the Australian batsman’s knock made the “difference” in the final. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, RCB defended 149 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). SRH, who have now lost both of their league games, endured a batting collapse after being reduced to 96 for 1 after 13 overs.
RCB jumped to the top of the IPL 2021 table with their victory on Wednesday, while SRH fell to seventh. RCB lost Devdutt Padiakkal in the third over of the day after being asked to bat in Chennai. RCB were reduced to 47 for 2 after Shahbaz Ahmed scored a 10-ball 14 before succumbing to his namesake Shahbaz Nadeem. The dismissal took Maxwell to the crease, and his quick-fire knock turned the game around for Bangalore.
In his 41-ball 59, the Australian smashed three sixes and five fours. He put on 44 runs for the third wicket with his captain Kohli. Just three RCB batters reached double figures, and Ahmed (14) was the highest-scoring of them all. Jason Holder took three wickets, Rashid Khan two, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Natarajan each took one wicket.
Kohli said in the post-match interview that he was very proud of his team for their “dead on” execution under pressure.
“I’m not as proud as I am tired” (of the team). In these circumstances, you’re never really out of the game. Those effect results in the middle overs were made possible by the additional bowling options. Don’t believe we worked to get to 149, I told the boys. It was difficult for us, and it would be difficult for them as well. Our output under duress was flawless.
For the old ball, it became more difficult. I believe Maxi’s inning was the deciding factor in our victory. To be honest, we aren’t overly enthusiastic about wins this season. We’ve made preparations. “We got Harshal from Delhi, gave him a special function, and he’s doing a fantastic job,” Kohli said.
Maxwell, who was named Player of the Match for his outstanding innings on Wednesday, was lauded by fellow Australian and SRH captain Warner.
“It’s a tough pill to take. Our bowlers did an outstanding job of limiting them. Maxwell batted well and laid the groundwork for the team. At the end, we wanted two solid batsmen, but we didn’t have them. We wanted to form a team and execute proper cricket shots. We were hitting cross-batted shots, which isn’t the way to play here. This is infuriating. We have a strategy in place for the forthcoming games. We have three more games here, and I believe the wickets will improve. We need to do as little harm as possible in the first six overs and play straightforward cricket. At Chepauk, the team batting second should have won all four games. This is precisely what occurred last night “After his team’s second consecutive defeat in the IPL 2021, Warner expressed his disappointment.
SRH’s chase was derailed when Warner went for 54 runs off 37 deliveries. He made his 49th half-century in the IPL by hitting seven fours and a six. In the second innings, RCB’s Shahbaz Ahmed and Harshal Patel made crucial breakthroughs to get the team back into the game. Ahmed took two of his three wickets in the same over, dismissing Manish Pandey and Abdul Samad. Ahmed had already dismissed the risky Jonny Bairstow for just 12 runs before making those two dismissals.
“It was a difficult situation (bowling the 17th over), but I’m glad the captain had faith in my abilities. There was some assistance from the surface, which I took advantage of. I was assured in my ability to bowl another over, but Siraj was bowling exceptionally well and deserved to bowl. Bairstow’s catch was significant (given the circumstances), and I was grateful for the opportunity to play again “After RCB’s six-run victory over SRH, Ahmed said in an interview. The SRH are about to play a big game. They have a two-day break before their match in Chennai against the Mumbai Indians (MI). On the other hand, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday.