Glenn Maxwell display delights cricket world after 'horrible' injury drama

Glenn Maxwell has marked his first significant half-century since a horror leg break last year, after a swashbuckling 50 in a losing effort for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). RCB lost by one wicket in a thriller against the Lucknow Super Giants after fast bowler Harshal Patel's botched Mankad attempt on the final ball.

The dramatic late drama came after Aussie cricket star Maxwell (59 runs off 29 balls), captain Faf du Plessis (79 not out off 46) and Virat Kohli (61 off 44) all struck rapid half centuries for RCB. Ultimately, those knocks proved in vain as Nicholas Pooran hit the fastest 50 of the season and Patel failed to run out Ravi Bishnoi, with Lucknow scampering home for a match-winning bye on the final delivery after the failed Mankad attempt.

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Despite the loss, it was a promising display from Maxwell in particular, with the all-rounder showing signs that his horror leg break from 2022 is well and truly behind him. Maxwell suffered a freak broken leg at a friend's birthday party in November, ruling him out the start of the BBL season and ruining his dream of a return to the Australian Test side for the tour of India.

Maxwell's first game back from the injury he described as 'horrible' saw him blast 61 runs for club side Fitzroy-Doncaster in February. However, the Australia all-rounder had not managed a score of note since his return from injury for the national side or his IPL franchise - before Monday's game.

The 34-year-old said he had to teach himself how to walk again and initially feared that his cricket career might be over as a result of the injury. However, the limited overs specialist looked like the Maxwell of old against Lucknow, blasting six sixes and three boundaries in his blistering knock before he was bowled off the penultimate delivery from Mark Wood.

Maxwell combined with du Plessis in a scintillating 115-run partnership after Kohli was caught at deep midwicket in the 12th over. Cricket fans were delighted to see the 'Big Show' back to his brutal best so soon after the Victorian's worrying injury drama.

Lucknow win after final ball Mankad drama

Lucknow chased down Bangalore's challenging total of 2-212 with no margin for error, reaching 9-213 in a nervy final over that almost saw RCB snatch victory in dramatic circumstances. Needing five off Patel's last over, it all came down to the final ball after Lucknow lost the wickets of Wood and Jaydev Unadkat, needing just one run for victory off the final ball.

Patel inexplicably missed a Mankad opportunity to remove Ravi Bishnoi at the non-striker's end, after the Lucknow tailender left his crease early in search of the winning run. Bishnoi was well out of his crease when Patel pulled out of his bowling action and turned around to run his opponent out, only to miss the stumps.

A successful run-out would have thrown the game into the super over but Patel's extraordinary miss allowed the last-wicket pair of Bishnoi and Avesh Khan to scamper through for a bye as wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik failed to gather the ball cleanly.

Lucknow's victory came largely off the back of Pooran's season-fastest fifty, which came off just 15 balls. His exceptional 19-ball knock of 62 runs featured seven sixes and four boundaries. When Pooran holed out at deep square leg off a high full toss from Mohammed Siraj (3-22), Lucknow needed 24 runs off the last three overs.

Siraj and South African Wayne Parnell (3-41), who last played an IPL game in 2014, had put Lucknow on the back foot with their early strikes, before Marcus Stoinis revived the chase with an exhibition of big-hitting. The Aussie bludgeoned 65 off 30 balls and then Pooran's powerful strikes dented Bangalore further as spinner Karn Sharma went for 1-48 off his three overs.

"The way Stoinis and Pooran played, if we have two points today it's because of them," Lucknow skipper Lokesh Rahul said. The win moves the Super Giants top of the IPL ladder after three wins from their first four games.

with AAP

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