Bengaluru: After their close 8-run loss against Chennai Super Kings in an IPL 2023 match, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Glenn Maxwell said between him and skipper Faf du Plessis, one should have been there a little bit longer and it could have changed the result.
Attacking fifties from Devon Conway (83 off 45) and Shivam Dube (52 off 27) powered CSK to 226/6. The CSK bowlers then held their nerve and survived Glenn Maxwell (76 off 36) and Faf Du Plessis (62 off 33) blitzes to win the Match 24 of IPL 2023 by 8 runs on Monday night, here.
Both Maxwell and Du Plessis got out in back to back 13th and 14th overs respectively during RCB’s run chase.
“A bit disappointed but I think we did so well to get so close and we were in the position to win the game. One of us should have been there a little bit longer, maybe had taken it deeper. We were trying to go as hard as possible to keep the run rate under 10. Once the ball started to get softer, it started to hold a little bit, we saw how Jadeja got one past Dinesh Karthik back in the end,” Maxwell said in the post-match press conference.
“It was a pretty exciting game of cricket. There’s always going to be a winner or loser; unfortunately, we fell a little bit short,” he added.
The Australian came to the crease early in the second over when Bangalore was 15-2 after losing the wickets of Virat Kohli and Mahipal Lombror. He and Du Plessis had a 126 run stand off 61 balls.
“Batting at No 4 is not something foreign to me. Chasing the big totals, having boundaries quite short and straight. It is something that I have enjoyed,” he said.
“Faf took a lot of pressure off me. Once the power play was over, our aim was to try to keep the asking rate low and play less dot balls, putting away the bad ball. During our partnership, we got the position where we were on top. Unfortunately, all it takes is one error,” he added.
The likes of Dinesh Karthik (28 off 14) and Suyash Prabhudessai (19 off 11) reduced the margin of defeat but the performances from Mahipal and Shahbaz Ahmed was disappointing.
However, Maxwell believes that the players like Mahipal and Shahbaz will come good for the team.
“Mahipal Lomror has been hitting the ball really well. I am sure at some stage in the tournament, he is going to show that class and ability he does have,” he said.
“Same with Shahbaz; he has been outstanding for us for the last couple of years. It is hard to come out there and get going with the guys before you hit 12 runs per over. It’s not a nice role, It is something that I had to do in the previous years,” he added.
The star RCB batter also lauded the way Sri Lankan pacer Matheessha Pathirana bowled in the death overs for CSK.
“Bowlers are allowed to bowl well despite what boundaries are. He nailed his yorkers,” Maxwell said.
