IPL 2018: Match 19, Player Battles – Glenn Maxwell vs Yuzvendra Chahal

Delhi Daredevils are currently at the bottom of the points table with three big losses in the four matches they played due to some terrible batting performances. The lack of depth in their bowling attack always saw them conceding too many runs but their batting failed except in the game against MI which they won by seven wickets. They will now face Royal Challengers Bangalore who also lost three of their four matches. The spotlight will be on the DD’s batsmen as their bowling attack will take on RCB’s strong batting that too on a batting paradise in Bangalore.

DD will need consistency from their openers Gautam Gambhir and Jason Roy who scored fifties in their respective first games of the season. Rishabh Pant has shown glimpses of how good he can be at taking spinners to cleaners. Glenn Maxwell, on the other hand, will have a key role to play for the Daredevils in the remainder of the season. The Australian is probably in his prime form given the way he fared in the domestic season. Maxwell will be crucial in making a difference of 20-30 runs to DD’s total in the coming game.

However, Delhi can hope Maxwell to help them if the all-rounder manages to escape threat from the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Maxwell has a reputation of getting out way too many times to the spinners in the limited-overs and his record against Chahal is even worse. Chahal dismissed Maxwell two times in the IPL at cost of 22 runs in 20 balls. The leg-spinner dismissed Maxwell on all the four occasions during Australia’s tour of India in 2017.

Glenn Maxwell vs Yuzvendra Chahal:

Maxwell cleared the fence during the last year’s Chennai ODI only to hole out on the very next ball he faced from the leggie. The Australian got stumped in the bowling of Chahal in the next two games before he was dropped from the XI. The RCB player got rid of Maxwell in the first game of the T20I series as well. Maxwell collectively scored 14 runs in 17 balls against Yuzvendra Chahal with only two boundaries.

(Stats as on April 20, 2018)