It was the Glenn Maxwell show yet again as the Chennai Super Kings bowlers bore the brunt of another blink-and-you-will-miss-a-six innings from the Kings XI tyro in a ridiculously high-scoring IPL 2014 encounter at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday night.
Maxwell was just in the mood, scoring boundaries at will, and getting to another 90, his third in this IPL to go along with an 89, as KXIP finished their first innings on a stunning 231 for four in 20 overs.
In reply, CSK were never really in the game, the moment they lost their own slugger Dwayne Smith early, as the Super Kings finished on 187 for six, 44 runs short of Kings XI's score.
"Maxwell batted exceptionally well and he was supported well by all the other batsmen," CSK skipper MS Dhoni said. "Everyone got a score and they made the most out of it. I think we lost the game when they got plenty of runs out of our spinners.
"Our seamers began well but we let them get about 40 above par. Maxwell has been very consistent with his shot selection and right now he's batting at his best.
"The wicket was good with some bounce for the seamers but in the second innings, it went a bit two paced and it looked like a bat first wicket. We tried to get off to a strong start but after we lost Smith early, and then Jadeja (the third wicket), we decided to focus on preserving our net run rate, because you never know when it might come in handy."
Maxwell was obviously ecstatic after his stunning knock. "Pitch was lively, it was coming on quite well," he said at the presentation ceremony after winning the man of the match award, his fourth in IPL 2014. "Luckily enough we got a few away and the pressure was on CSK all the time.
"We had no idea how the pitch was going to be, but all of a sudden we got a few away, and then George Bailey finished the game off brilliantly. It's nice to be top of the table."
Maxwell's 135-run partnership with David Miller was the game-changer, and the Australian admitted he quite likes batting with the South African.
"I enjoy batting with Miller, it was nice to bat with him, have a little bit of fun and hit a couple over the rope."
