IPL 2021: Why Would You Play That Shot? - Gautam Gambhir On Glenn Maxwell's Dismissal Against KKR

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has questioned the reasoning behind Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman, Glenn Maxwell’s shot selection against Sunil Narine. Gambhir was also unimpressed with Virat Kohli’s approach in the Eliminator between RCB and KKR.

Kolkata spinner, Sunil Narine, wreaked havoc against RCB in Sharjah on Monday night. Everything he tried turned out to work for him. Knowing he was bowling very well and was in his last over, Maxwell tried to slog sweep but ended up paying the price. Gambhir was dismayed at the Aussie for not respecting Narine and playing out the over.

“Just poor batting. Poor shot selection as well… Someone who was in should have batted till the 16th over. It started with Virat that he got out at the wrong time playing a shocking shot. And then Glenn Maxwell again, when two balls were left in Sunil Narine’s spell, why would you play that shot? He could have targeted Shivam Mavi,” Gambhir said in a conversation with ESPNcricinfo.

Virat had to bat till the 16th over – Gautam Gambhir

On a tough batting track in Sharjah, a set batsman needed to stay till the end. Kohli and Maxwell had taken their time and kept the run flow going, albeit at a slow pace. The spinners were enjoying a lot of assistance from the pitch and all the RCB batsmen had to do was wait for the pacers, as per Gambhir.

“They should have looked to get 150-155… You need to have a better game plan on who do you want to target and when and what is the situation as well. Virat had to bat till the 16th over and had he got that 60-70, the have could have reached that total,” Gambhir said.

Unfortunately for Kohli, his final season as the RCB captain ended poorly. KKR outplayed the RCB side and won the match by four wickets to enter Qualifier 2.

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