Be cautious if a big hitter feels ill before taking the pitch. Some records may be broken. Although it is thought that a wounded tiger would be more deadly, the cricket World Cup is demonstrating that an unwell tiger is likely more hazardous. Not convinced by us? I just went to YouTube and looked up AB de Villiers's World Cup 2015 century against the West Indies. Need a more current illustration? You only need to consider what Glenn Maxwell accomplished on Wednesday.
AB de Villiers experienced a gastrointestinal issue the night before the game. On match day, he had to take an injection to turn and play as he was restless all night. The result? In ODI history, the quickest 150. De Villiers scored 162 runs in 66 balls, leading South Africa to 408.
Maxwell repeated the action eight years later. Maxwell wasn't feeling well before stepping out to bat against the Netherlands in a World Cup 2023 match in Delhi. He wasn't even sure whether he would be able to bat, yet in one of the most devastating innings in World Cup history, he not only batted but also changed the course of history.
The Australian all-rounder reached his third ODI century off 40 balls, the fastest in World Cup history, with eight sixes, tied for second highest by any Australian in a World Cup encounter with Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting. Maxwell went from 50 to 100 balls in just 13 balls. With a wide variety of switch hits, reverse sweeps, and scoops, he left the Netherlands bowlers completely bewildered.
The Indian Cricket team released a video of Maxwell taking a medication right before stepping out to bat at the Arun Jaitely Stadium, following his spectacular 106 off 44 balls.
"Yes, not very good. It's been a fairly cooked day for me. Unlike the last game, where I was quite excited to get out there, I wasn't really in the mood to bat while I was sitting in the changing room. Then, if you couldn't tell, I most likely hit double maximum when we discussed over-arousal levels. However, once I was outside, I was a little more at ease. I don't believe they were very big hopes. However, I must admit that I've been quite fried these past several days. Corresponded with the restless night last night spent with the family over, but - Yeah," Maxwell told reporters following Australia's record-breaking victory by 309 runs in the World Cup.
*'No point in taking singles': Maxwell
In the final five overs of the Australian innings, Maxwell hit eight sixes. The all-round player, who wasn't playing well before this game, said he urged the non-striker captain Pat Cummins to take leadership of the game's last overs to attempt to maximise run scoring.
"My plan was to attempt farming the strike for the last stretch. There were, I believe, five overs left, and I promised Pat that I would do all in my power to dominate the next five overs. It may simply be a single back and forth where I could get a number of balls in a row and hopefully find some hitting, so I didn't see the sense in taking singles if I got it on a run."
"I believe that on a field like that, you may make mistakes if you can exert pressure on a particular bowler or anyone else and manage to get a hold of them a few times in a succession. In the 49th over, I thought I had done that. I was able to obtain poor balls by applying pressure to his excellent balls, which allowed me to hit sixes. That must have been merely my back-end strategy. I guess there was a decent chance I was going to score 100 because I was fortunate enough to have a few of full tosses at the end," he said.
0 Comments