From being a bottom of the table team in Indian Premier League to qualifying for the CLT20 2014, Kings XI Punjab have come a long way. Although, it was a great team effort by Kings XI Punjab in IPL7, but one man’s contributions stands out, and that man is Glenn Maxwell. He batted brilliantly throughout the tournament, and justified his “big” price tag by scoring consistently for his team. Maxwell was at his destructive best in the last season of the IPL, and this was one of the biggest reason behind Kings XI Punjab’s success.
Maxwell started his career as an attacking batsman, but lacked consistency. It was after the T20 World 2012 that he started scoring consistently and cemented his place in the Australian team. It was on the basis of these consistent performances, that Kings XI Punjab went aggressively after him in the auctions. Now when we look back, we can only say- what a good decision it turned out for the Kings XI Punjab and their fans. Maxwell announced his grand arrival in the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).In the UAE-leg of the tournament, he was unstoppable. It was Maxwell’s brutality with the bat that lifted the spirit of Kings XI Punjab, and they started believing in themselves.
In the ongoing CLT20 tournament, Kings XI Punjab will be relying massively on Glenn Maxwell. Although, Punjab have a very power-packed batting order, but still, Maxwell remains their X-factor. Maxwell’s biggest strength is his fearless approach towards batting. His approach is somewhat like Matthew Hayden. He is not afraid to step-out against fast bowlers and sometimes he even tries reverse-sweeping them for a six. Maxwell also reminds us of Virender Sehwag. Just like Virender Sehwag, Maxwell believes in keep hitting the ball, irrespective of the demands of the situation. Maxwell has the potential of finishing the matches single-handedly, especially in the T20 format.
Maxwell was in a great form in the recently concluded triangular series in Zimbabwe. Kings XI Punjab and their fans would be hoping that he carries the same good form in CLT20 2014
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Relive Maxwell’s IPL magic by watching this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7br68vtbekM
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by Kaushik Narayanan
