IPL 2021: 'Maxwell was someone we wanted at crease, his run-out 'turning point,' says Hesson

Glenn Maxwell. Pic/PTI

After suffering a narrow four-run defeat against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Director of Cricket and head coach, Mike Hesson said that the run-out of Glenn Maxwell was the turning point of the game. A spirited bowling performance saw Kane Williamson-led SRH defeat RCB by four runs here at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday. Bhuvneshwar Kumar defended 13 off the final over to help his side register a thrilling victory.

"I think so (Maxwell's run-out being the turning point). The fact that Glenn Maxwell was scoring more than 10 runs per over, he was perhaps the only batter to have fluency on this surface and he was set. He was the man we wanted at the crease, look it probably was the turning point. It probably did turn the game and we left a little too much for us to do in the end," said Hesson during a virtual post-match press conference. "We were not quite good enough in the key moments to get over the line," he added.

Maxwell (40) and Devdutt Padikkal formed a 54-run stand for the fourth wicket, but the Aussie batter was sent back to the pavilion in the 15th over through a run-out. Padikkal found it tough in the middle as he scored 41 off 52 balls at a strike rate of 78.85.

"It was in the first time out. It was a matter of the fact that Maxwell was going on, so Padikkal was playing the second-fiddle and he was rotating the strike. He played that role very nicely. But as we saw, it got harder to score and time. There were a few dot balls built up and in the second time-out, around the 15th over, we told Devdutt to take the initiative and take the pressure off the other new batters," said Hesson while replying to an ANI query.

Earlier, Jason Roy played a knock of 44 runs as SRH posted a total of 141/7 in the allotted twenty overs. For RCB, Harshal Patel returned with the figures of 3-33. RCB will next square off against Delhi Capitals on Friday at the Dubai International Stadium.

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