Unable to run, barely standing on his two legs, Glenn Maxwell blasted his way to a record-breaking 201 at Master Blaster’s home ground, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Sachin Tendulkar explained how cramps and back spasms limited his footwork but it helped him watch the ball closely and use his hand-eye coordination to best effect and take Australia over the line.
“Life and cricket have many parallels. Sometimes, like a spring, what pulls you back is also what propels you forward,” Tendulkar wrote on his X account on November 8.
“During yesterday’s game, @Gmaxi_32’s cramps constrained his footwork. He had to stay put at the crease, but that enabled him to have a steady head, watch the ball closely and let his hand-eye coordination do the work, backed by exceptional bat-speed.
“Different formats of the game, and stages of the game require different footwork. And sometimes, no footwork becomes great footwork too.”
At one point, Adam Zampa was all padded up to walk into the ground as Maxwell laid on his back in agonising pain. After getting some help from the physiotherapist, Maxwell decided to march on and not leave his side high and dry. He had the option to retire hurt within the laws of the game and come back. However, a break would have made it worse and Maxwell decided to stay and limit his movement by dealing in fours and sixes.
"I thought he was going off. So, I kind of signalled to Zamps (Adam Zampa) to get down here cause yeah, he (Maxwell) literally couldn't move and then I think the physio was out there obviously. He kind of convinced Maxi that if he came off, it might be worse off. So, try and hang out there, stand up, and that's probably your best bet,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said in the post-match press conference.
"Because once you go off it's that much cramp but there's no guarantee you're going to get back out there.”
Maxwell broke several records as he became the first batter to score a double century in an ODI run chase. He is likely to recover for Australia’s last league clash scheduled on November 11 against Bangladesh.
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