IPL 2021: Virat Kohli Backs Decision To Send Glenn Maxwell Ahead Of AB de Villiers Against Mumbai Indians, Says RCB’s Batting Order Can Be Different In Future Games

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli backed his decision to send Glenn Maxwell ahead of AB de Villiers in the IPL 2021 opening match against Mumbai Indians. Glenn Maxwell, who usually bats in a lower position, came out to bat at number four during Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indian match in IPL 2021. AB de Villiers arrived to crease at number 5 position and fans were quite surprised over the change in RCB’s batting order.

Maxwell played a great knock during the opening match against Mumbai Indians. He smashed 39 runs off balls along with two sixes and three boundaries. Maxwell also managed a 50-run partnership with Virat Kohli. Batting at no.5, AB de Villiers played a match-winning knock of 48 runs off 27 balls.

Maxwell’s Innings Was A Game Changer, Says Virat Kohli

During the post-match presentation, Virat Kohli backed the team’s decision to send Glenn Maxwell at no. 4 batting position in the match. Calling Maxwell’s innings in the match as a game-changer, Kohli said he wanted Maxwell to settle on the crease while batting. “The thinking was that we wanted to give Maxi some balls at the start and not get him slogging right away. You saw the result today of him playing 10-15 balls. His innings was the game-changer. Had he stayed in we would’ve finished a couple of overs earlier,” Kohli said.

Virat Kohli also mentioned that RCB can change their batting order according to match situations in IPL 2021 and called AB de Villiers a versatile player. “The opposition gets nervous about AB. We have depth in the batting which we want to utilise. AB is probably the only player who’s so versatile and can do what he did on slow pitches today, so we have to understand. If there’s a partnership on, you might see a totally different order. But in a tricky chase, you want some options in the back end, where the opposition thinks it’s not over till he gets out”, the RCB skipper further said.

Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by 2 wickets in the IPL 2021 opener game. Batting first, Mumbai Indians scored 159-9 in 20 overs after a poor batting show in the death overs. The match went to the final ball when RCB’s managed to score 1 run to bag the victory. RCB’s Harshal Patel was awarded player of the match for his 5-wicket haul in the match.