IPL 2021: Virat Kohli's Faith Renewed as Glenn Maxwell Shines in Tournament Opener

After a disappointing last season with the Punjab Kings in 2020, it seems as though all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has turned over a new leaf with his new squad, Royal Challengers Bangalore. After a thrilling two-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians on Friday, the hard-hitting, right-handed batsman has finally broken the chain of dry spells by hitting a 28-ball 39 (4×3, 6×2) to push RCB to victory in the first match of the series.

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Just last year, Maxwell failed to impress while turning out for the Punjab franchise. Despite facing 106 deliveries across 13 matches, the Australian cricketer had failed to hit a single six in the whole of last season. He managed nine fours and aggregated just 108 runs at a strike rate of 101.88 and an average of 15.42.

The highest he got all season was 32. It doesn’t come as a surprise, then, that the Punjab Kings side released him in time for this season’s mini-auction.However, things began looking up for Maxwell when RCB skipper Virat Kohli showed immense faith in the Aussie in time for the auction. The Bangalore side picked him up for a whopping Rs 14.25 crore, setting his future in stone with the boys in red.

“He’s a good guy, we’ve caught up in the past as well when I was in Australia on a tour. He’s just very happy to be in RCB and I see a different energy about him this time,” Kohli said, in a video uploaded by the franchise on its Youtube page.

“We wanted Maxi, specifically targeted him at the auction in February. You obviously feel great when things end up happening to where you thought they would,” Kohli said.

True to form, Maxwell, pushed up the order to bat at No. 4, and responded with a nice cameo, hitting two sixes and three fours.

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• Glenn Maxwell
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