Glenn Maxwell had a terrible outing in the Indian T20 League that concluded earlier this month. He could muster only 108 runs, at a dismal average of 15.42, and his strike-rate of 101.88 was shockingly low by his standards as well. In fact, he failed to hit even a single six in the 106 deliveries he faced during the course of the season, and that pretty much sums up how bad things turned out for him.
However, a change in the conditions and return to the national setup has somehow helped the Australian all-rounder to regain his form. Maxwell has scores of 45(19) and 63*(29) to his name in the two ODIs of the ongoing three-match series against India. That means he has amassed a total of 108 runs, which is equal to his Indian T20 League tally this season, in just two innings and that too at a staggering average and strike-rate of 108.00 and 284.21 respectively.
Not only that, he has gone on to hit seven sixes as well. He was struggling to hit even one a couple of weeks ago. So that's a massive turnaround for him and one that will improve his stocks as a player once again.
It is pretty hard to point out what was ailing him in the Indian T20 League. It looked like he was in some kind of a mental block, which he has obviously overcome now. He seems clear in his visions now and knows what he wants to and needs to do.
Maxwell has shown impeccable timing and control over his big hits in this ODI series thus far. He has hit a total of 16 boundaries so far which is a boundary every 2.4 deliveries. Now that's a phenomenal rate and striking ability -- something Maxwell has always been known for.
Both of his knocks propelled Australia to big totals and thus helped them in sealing the series as well. While Australia scored 374/6 in the first ODI, they did even better in the second one as they posted a mammoth total of 389/4 once again. It's true that players like Steven Smith, Aaron Finch and David Warner did the bulk of the scoring but it was Maxwell's efforts that gave them the late impetus in their innings -- a job he has always specialized in, a job he would want to succeed at time and again in the future.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / David Gray
