Glenn Maxwell savaged by Kevin Pietersen amid Aussie cricket star's ugly history in IPL exit

Glenn Maxwell has been heavily criticised by Kevin Pietersen after the Aussie cricket star was dismissed for a golden duck as Royal Challengers Bangalore were bundled out of the IPL playoffs. Maxwell's horror tournament came to a brutal end on Thursday morning (Aussie time) as RCB lost to Rajasthan Royals by four wickets to eliminate them from the competition.

Batting first, RCB made 8-172 off their 20 overs, with Cameron Green producing 27 off 21 balls. But Ravi Ashwin dismissed Green and Maxwell in consecutive balls as the latter suffered an embarrassing golden duck after he played a rank slog on the first delivery he faced.

It was the fourth duck Maxwell registered as he made a total of 52 runs from nine innings in the tournament at a paltry average of 5.77. It was also the 18th duck of Maxwell's IPL career - moving him into a tie with Dinesh Karthik for the most in the T20 competition's history.

In commentary for the match, England great Pietersen was highly critical of the shot Maxwell played on the first delivery he saw. “What on earth was that from Glenn Maxwell?” Pietersen said. “This is a huge game, you need the biggest players and you need to perform, you need to give yourself a chance. That there from Glenn Maxwell I’m afraid isn’t good enough.”

Maxwell also had a horror moment in the field when the man with one of the safest pair of hands in world cricket spilled a straightforward catch on the deep midwicket boundary. The Aussie star didn't get a bowl either, but Green did pick up the wicket of Yashavsi Jaiswal for 45 as his four overs went for just 28.

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However it wasn't enough for RCB to advance. Riyan Parag (36) and Shimron Hetmyer (26) got the Royals' chase back on track and Rovman Powell eventually powered a six off Lockie Ferguson to seal the win with an over to spare.

It means the end of Virat Kohli and RCB's campaign, while the Royals advance to a showdown with Pat Cummins and Travis Head's Sunrisers Hyderabad for a spot in the final. Mitchell Starc and the Kolkata Knight Riders had earlier advanced to the final by beating Cummins and the Sunrisers in the first final.

Glenn Maxwell's form a concern ahead of T20 World Cup

Maxwell's underwhelming display won't see him miss out on selection for the T20 World Cup starting next month, but it will certainly cause some concerns. The 35-year-old came into the IPL in sparkling form and blasted a number of centuries in ODI and T20 cricket for Australia.

He took a break in the middle of the IPL to mentally and physically refresh, but it didn't help turn around his fortunes. “After the first few games hadn’t gone to plan personally for me, it was a pretty easy decision,” Maxwell said about his decision to step away. “I went to (RCB captain Faf du Plessis) and the coaches last game and said it was time to probably try someone else.

"I have been in this situation before in the past, where you can keep playing and dig yourself into a hole. Now is actually the best time to give myself a mental and physical break. With our results this year, it was quite an easy decision. We haven’t been playing as well as we would have liked as a team, and the results show that.

"My personal results have reflected the results we have had. Pretty big deficiency straight after the Powerplay and the middle overs, which have been an area of strength of mine the last couple of seasons. I felt like I wasn’t contributing in a positive way and it felt like, with the position we find ourselves at the table, to give someone else the opportunity to try their wares and hopefully, someone can make the spot their own.”

with agencies