Australian talisman all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was delighted after their 66-run win against India in the third ODI at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium, Rajkot on Wednesday. Maxwell made a much-awaited return to action after recovering from his injury.
While the all-rounder could only score five runs, he returned with career-best figures of 4-40 in the 10 overs he bowled. Maxwell accounted for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar in his fine spell.
In fact, Australia had lost their last five ODI matches (three against South Africa and two against India) and it was crucial for them to get back to winning ways before the all-important World Cup.
The visitors were able to come up with a collective effort with Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne all scoring half-centuries to help them post 352 runs on the board after Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat first.
Glenn Maxwell was awarded Player of the Match for his fine bowling performance. He said in the post-match presentation, “Not too bad, is it! It has been a lot of hard work. The South Africa tour was a bit of a setback, but sped things up as well, got back home and got an injection. I don’t have any travel issues unlike the others.”
He added, “I look fresh. It’s nice to chip in, if Mitch Marsh wasthere on the field, we would have chopped and changed [on the bowling]. Since he was not there, had to bowl more. That will be the role of the allrounders in this World Cup. We are all trying to be as flexible as possible. We have a super-flexible list and it’s good to get some momentum before the World Cup.”
It was a much-needed win for Australia and it must have added to their confidence before the World Cup. The five-time champions will begin their World Cup campaign against hosts India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on October 8.
