Glenn Maxwell expresses gratitude towards coach Justin Langer after scoring fifty against Zimbabwe.

It was Maxwell's first T20I fifty in seven innings.

Glenn Maxwell | Getty

Glenn Maxwell powered Australia to a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the ongoing T20I tri-series at Harare Sports Club, Harare on Friday (July 6). The swashbuckling right-hander scored 56 off 38 balls when Australia were tottering at 26/2, chasing 152.

Maxwell forged a 103-run partnership for the third wicket with Travis Head (48 runs off 42 balls) to bail Australia out of trouble. Subsequently, Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Agar saw the side home with 1 ball to spare.

Soon after reaching the fifty, Maxi had pointed to his eyes to show his teammates and coach that he is watching the ball closely. Speaking after the match, Maxwell credited head coach Justin Langer for helping him out in this tough phase.

"I've been doing a lot of work with JL [Justin Langer] recently, making sure I'm watching the ball as hard as I can. I've been doing a lot of work with that in the nets, making sure I'm really concentrating. That's all I'm thinking about at the moment. So that was just a little gesture towards him," Maxwell quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

It was a crucial innings for Maxwell as he was struggling for form in the past few months. He had a forgettable IPL while playing for Delhi Daredevils and has recorded the scores of 10, 0* and 10 in his last three T20Is post the cash-rich event.

"It's nice to spend a bit of time out in the middle and get a little bit of momentum with my batting. I've been a little bit starved of opportunity, though I missed an opportunity to score some runs against Pakistan in the last game," he added.

This was a dead rubber match only, with Australia and Pakistan already qualified for the final. However, there is no such term as ‘dead rubber’ in Maxwell’s dictionary.

"There's no such thing as a dead rubber when you're representing your country. It's another game for your country. Any time you get a chance to play for Australia is gold. Any time you get a chance to win a game for the country is something you have to take with both hands and never take for granted," Maxwell remarked.

Australia and Pakistan will face off in the summit clash of tri-series on Sunday (July 8) and Maxwell is looking forward for the challenge.

"This is the No.1 team we're going up against in the final. We've had a little bit of success recently in tri-series, with our win in Australia and New Zealand in March, and we really want to keep that winning culture within this side going forward. And if we can continue to win the tri-series, regardless of where it is and who is playing, it just breeds a good culture within the side," Glenn Maxwell concluded.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 07 Jul, 2018

    Share Via