IPL 2021: Virat Kohli cheerfully applauds as Glenn Maxwell brings up his half-century

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are battling out in the tenth league game of the Indian Premier League at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. After the Challengers’ skipper, Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat on a surface that has fared well for the defending teams in the recent past.

Batting first, RCB was unable to get off to a likable start as Varun Chakravarthy removed both Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar in the same over. What followed was an 86-run partnership between Glenn Maxwell and Devdutt Padikkal, with the former playing the role of the aggressor and scoring the larger chunk of the partnership (60 runs).

After the fall of Padikkal, Maxwell joined forces with AB de Villiers as the duo added a quick-fire 53 from 37 deliveries to bring their team back on track after an unideal start. In a knock laced with nine boundaries and three sixes, Maxwell smacked 78 from 49 deliveries and looked well set for a century before Pat Cummins removed him on the final ball of the 17th over.

Virat Kohli applauds Glenn Maxwell

Meanwhile, Maxwell continued his good form in the tournament after he had quite a forgettable last season in UAE, where the big-hitter could not even manage a single six. His scores in the 14th edition of the league read 39 (versus Mumbai Indians) and 59 (versus Sunrisers Hyderabad) so far.

As the Australian batsman brought up his consecutive half-century, the skipper got up and acknowledged his landmark with a clap, wearing a look of satisfaction on his face. It seems that Maxwell has finally broken the jinx of inconsistency and has entered into the RCB camp with different ideas.

Once he took an exit, KKR had to bore the brunt of AB de Villiers, who belted nine fours and three sixes in his 34-ball 76. Scoring as many as 70 runs in the last five overs, of which 55 came off de Villiers’ bat, RCB was able to launch themselves past the 200-run mark as they set 205 for the opponents to win. RCB is the only team that has won both their fixtures in the league thus far.

Virat Kohli applauding Maxi 😂👏👏#IPL2021 #RCBvKKR #Maxwell #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/bJsgswulCe

— Nishanth Sudarshan (@Constantine_YT) April 18, 2021