AUS vs AFG: Batting on one leg after suffering from cramps, Maxwell just used his power and practiced range-hitting against the Afghan bowlers.
Double centurion Glenn Maxwell played arguably knocks of the tournament against Afghanistan on Tuesday at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. However, under the hot and humid conditions, it was not all easy for the batter as he suffered from cramps for the majority of the innings.
Speaking after the game he revealed why he did not walk off despite in pain. “We talked about coming off and trying to get some work into my back and trying to loosen up my legs a little bit,” Maxwell said. “The physio said it would be really hard for you to come back out down the stairs after that. It probably made the job a little more simple,” he told the reporters after the game.
Batting on one leg after suffering from cramps, Maxwell just used his power and practiced range-hitting against the Afghan bowlers. The bowlers kept feeding him with length balls on slot which allowed him to just get on front-foot and use his brute strength to hit them all over the park.
“I’ve watched and played a lot of cricket, and I’ve seen nothing like that…unbelievable scenes, he was done. He was down and out, he couldn’t move,” former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting would say on official broadcast after the game.
Chasing a target of 292, Australia were slumped to 91 for 7 in 18.3 overs and staring at annihilation. However, the Australian all-rounder had different ideas as he took the Aussies to a memorable victory.
“It’s so fresh at the moment I’m a bit numb to it,” Maxwell told reporters. “It was great fun. It just felt like it was me and Patty [Cummins] having fun out there. I’ll probably reflect a bit more over the next few days and hopefully recover and get some movement back in my hamstring and calves. It’s pretty raw at the moment.”
“Then we came up with let’s stay at the same end for as long as you can, until you can at least walk at the other end if there is an easy single. But for a while there it was ‘if I can get one or two boundaries from the other end’ it didn’t really matter what happened the other end. Because we got it to a run a ball by that stage. There was certain planning, it wasn’t all just chaotic swinging,” He further said.
Speaking about winning six games in a row and reaching the semifinal Maxwell said, “To be able to string six wins together at the right time, and we didn’t have our best stuff tonight, against a pretty spirited opposition so to be in the semis is a great feeling and hopefully we enjoy a few days in Pune. I’ll stay away from the golf carts.”
Source:indianexpress.com