IPL 2021: RCB and Punjab Kings engage in sidesplitting banter over Glenn Maxwell’s six

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) latest recruit, Glenn Maxwell, made his grand debut for the Virat Kohli-led side in the high-voltage clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday. The opening game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 saw RCB beating MI in the match that went to the wire by two wickets at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

After RCB lost two quick wickets in the form of Washington Sundar and Rajat Patidar, Maxwell walked in ahead of AB de Villiers at number four and formed a crucial stand of 52 runs with captain Virat Kohli for the third wicket. The partnership between the two gave a solid foundation while setting up the 160-run chase against Rohit Sharma and Co.

The Aussie all-rounder eventually scored a quickfire 39 with some glorious shots, including his trademark reverse sweeps for boundaries. During his explosive knock, Maxi went downtown against Krunal Pandya to smash a humungous six landed on the stadium’s roof over widish long-on.

In between the match, the official Twitter handles of both RCB and Punjab Kings (PBKS) got involved in a hilarious banter concerning Maxwell. It all happened after the power-striker hit his first IPL six after 1079 days.

Notably, Maxwell was released by PBKS ahead of IPL 2021 auction due to his dreadful outing in the cash-rich league’s previous season. The Victorian had only managed to score 108 runs from 13 games without hitting a single six in the tournament.

And just after Maxwell smashed a 100-meter maximum off Krunal, RCB teased PBKS, thanking them for releasing the hard-hitting Australian for IPL 2021.

“First Maxi-mum in Red and Gold, and he nearly hits it out of Chennai! Thank you, @PunjabKingsIPL. We would hug you if not for social distancing,” tweeted RCB.

First Maxi-mum in Red and Gold and he nearly hits it out of Chennai!🤯
Thank you @PunjabKingsIPL. We would hug you if not for social distancing 🤗#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #MIvRCB #DareToDream
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 9, 2021

The Mohali-based franchise responded quickly and came up with an apt reply. They went on to thank RCB for giving KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan. Not to mention, all these players have earlier played for the Challengers.

“Aww, and thank you for Gayle, KL, Mandy, Sarfaraz, Mayank,” PBKS wrote on the micro-blogging website.