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Maxwell smashes Punjab to win

Johannesburg - Glenn Maxwell smashed his way to 90 as the Kings XI Punjab hammered the Chennai Super Kings by 44 runs in their Indian Premier League match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday, the supersport.com website reports.

Maxwell came in to the match as the tournament’s leading run-scorer and he continued his fine form as he bludgeoned his runs off just 38 balls with six fours and eight sixes as Punjab posted a formidable 231-4, the highest total of this year’s IPL.

Chennai, in reply, could only muster 187-6, despite 52 off 25 deliveries from Faf du Plessis, as Punjab moved to the top of the standings with Chennai dropping to second.

The 25-year-old Maxwell shared in a 135-run third-wicket stand off a mere 10.4 overs with David Miller before George Bailey weighed in with a superb 40 not out off a trifling 13 balls with six fours and two sixes to boost the back-end of the innings as Punjab smashed a staggering 162 runs off the last 10 overs of their innings, an IPL record.

Miller was in fine form but he was made to look almost pedestrian by Maxwell.

However, Miller still managed to smash 47 off 32 deliveries with five fours and two sixes before being bowled off an inside edge off the bowling of medium-pacer Dwayne Smith in the 16th over.

The left-handed Miller struck one massive blow, a 98m six over long-on that crashed in to the third tier of the grandstand as he more than played his part in supporting the rampant Maxwell.

Maxwell, who scored just six off the first eight balls that he faced, exploded into action in the 11th over when he struck consecutive sixes off the bowling of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Maxwell’s assault on Ashwin continued in the bowler’s next over as the batsman plundered two fours and two sixes to bring up his fifty off a mere 22 balls, with four fours and four sixes, with his knock full of muscular shots and perfectly timed reverse-sweeps.

The right-handed Maxwell then struck three sixes off four balls from Smith in the 16th over as Punjab ran rampant after being asked to bat by Chennai.

Maxwell was finally dismissed in the 18th over, caught at deep midwicket off the bowling of seamer Mohit Sharma, but Bailey built on the good start with his knock which included four fours off the 19th over, bowled by paceman Ben Hilfenhaus, and two sixes and a four off the last over, bowled by Mohit.

Punjab had made a relatively sedate start to their innings as they reached 38-2 in the sixth over after the loss of Mandeep Singh (3) and Virender Sehwag (30).

Mohit ended with 2-38.

Chennai’s innings never really got off the ground after the early loss of Smith (4) despite Suresh Raina (35) and Brendon McCullum (33) adding 51-runs for the second wicket.

Raina became the first player to score 3000 IPL runs during his knock but he was dismissed by the off-spin of Maxwell with Miller taking a superb catch, diving forward at long-off.

Ravi Jadeja (17) was the next man out, bowled by seamer Rishi Dhawan, before McCullum was run out at the non-striker’s end after a direct hit from Mitchell Johnson at midwicket.

Du Plessis brought up his 50 off 22 balls, with three consecutive fours off the bowling of medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma, but his bright knock came far too late to save Chennai.

Du Plessis struck seven fours and a six during his innings before being caught at short fine leg off the bowling of paceman Johnson.

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