Krunal and Bumrah were extremely hard to get away: Glenn Maxwell

Australia star Glenn Maxwell admitted that scoring off Jasprit Bumrah and Krunal Pandya was tough in the first T20I against India on Sunday. Australia pulled off a last-ball thriller to take an unassailable lead in the two-match series. Riding on a fifty from Maxwell and some fine bowling effort, the visitors beat India by 3 wickets in Vizag. However, the victory did not come easy for Australia and at one stage it looked like they have squandered the good position.

That India managed to give Australia a tough fight despite scoring just 126 for 7 was mainly because of Bumrah and Pandya.  In the low-scoring tie, the duo came up with economical spells to help India claw their way back into the game. While Bumrah conceded just 16, Pandya conceded 17 off his four overs.

The duo also shared four wickets between them. The pick of the over was the 19th one bowled by Bumrah. With Australia needing 16 off the last 12 balls, Bumrah conceded just two and picked up two wickets before the visitors managed to score the required 14 runs in the final over.

Maxwell, who scored 56 and helped Australia recover from 5 for 2 by sharing 84 runs with D’Arcy Short, said he targeted other Indian bowlers after finding it tough to deal with Bumrah and Pandya.

“Krunal and Bumrah were extremely hard to get away. I decided to target other players like Chahal. I was trying to hit another six, but it was a poor bat swing (during dismissal off Chahal’s bowling), I’ll make amends in the next game,” Maxwell told Star Sports on Sunday.

The right-hander also said he is comfortable batting at number four. Maxwell’s batting position has been a much-talked-about topic since the ODI series against India at home last month, “That’s [batting at No.4] something I have done well in T20Is and domestically back home in the Big Bash. It’s a position I’m comfortable to bat in. Hopefully, I continue to do well,” said Maxwell.

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