Glenn Maxwell shown no mercy by Kevin Pietersen, Irfan Pathan after RCB star matches Karthik's unwanted feat in IPL 2024
Glenn Maxwell was called out by Irfan Pathan and Kevin Pietersen after the RCB star recorded a golden duck against RR in the IPL 2024 playoffs.
Regarded as the 'Big Show' in the Indian Premier League (IPL), superstar Glenn Maxwell turned out to be the biggest disappointment for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday. Maxwell matched Dinesh Karthik's unwanted record in the action-packed encounter between RCB and RR at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Australia’s Maxwell was also called out for his cheap dismissal by former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Pathan questioned Maxwell's shot selection during RCB's match against RR in the IPL 2024 playoffs. “What was Maxwell doing?,” Pathan mentioned in his post. The RCB superstar was also castigated by ex-England skipper Kevin Pietersen on commentary. “What on earth was that from Glenn Maxwell?,” Pietersen asked on air. “This is a huge game, you need your biggest players to perform, you need to give yourself a chance. That from Glenn Maxwell isn’t good enough,” he added.
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Maxwell equals Karthik's duck record in IPL
Maxwell was outsmarted by veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in his match-altering over against RCB. After getting rid of on-song Cameron Green for 27 off 21 balls, Ashwin handed Maxwell a golden duck in the IPL 2024 Eliminator at the world's largest cricket stadium.
With the golden duck to his name, Maxwell equalled Karthik's dubious record in the IPL. Maxwell and Karthik have recorded 18 ducks each in the cash-rich league. Karthik and Maxwell are followed by Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who has 17 ducks in IPL. Piyush Chawla, Mandeep Singh and Sunil Narine have failed to open their respective accounts on 15 occasions.
Talking more about the match, Ashwin removed Green and Maxwell in the 12th over as RCB posted 172-8 in 20 overs. Spin wizard Ashwin bagged two wickets and leaked 19 runs in four overs. Pacer Avesh Khan picked up three wickets and conceded 44 runs in his crucial spell. Interestingly, Ashwin has the second-most wickets in the IPL playoffs. The RR spinner has 21 wickets under his belt at the business end of the competition.
'I texted Virat Kohli saying…'
“It's been a tournament of two halves for me. First half into the tournament I was struggling coming from the Test series with injuries. Last few games I feel I am bowling really well. I texted Virat saying come on let's fight it one more time (smiles). Dew has come on nicely. The IPL committee has done well overall in the tournament to manage the dew,” Ashwin said during the innings break.