All Glenn Maxwell Needed Was Some Stability.
Glen Maxwell has arguably having one of his most productive IPL seasons. The Australian has already accumulated 300 runs in nine innings at average of 33 with a strike-rate of 133. It is already Maxwell’s second most productive IPL season after 2014. So why is Maxwell having one his best IPL seasons?
Firstly, Maxwell has batted at No.4 in all his nine innings. Compare that to the last two years in which he batted in 6 different positions. The stability seems to have helped Maxwell with his consistency.
Maxwell has often been criticised for trying to be too aggressive at the start of his innings especially when he has more than 10 overs to bat in the innings. In 2021 however, he has been prepared to bid his time in the first 10 balls. He is taking minimum risks before exploding in the back half of his innings.
This season in the 8 innings in which Maxwell has arrived at the crease before the 10th over, he has been willing to bid his time as illustrated in the table below.
| Batsman | No of innings (with more than 10 overs left to bat) | Strike-rate in first 10 balls | Strike-rate after 10 balls |
| Glenn Maxwell | 8 | 99.19 | 177 |
Mumbai Indians’ Middle Order Woes
Mumbai India have been below par in the 2021 IPL and large part of that is due to the lack of runs from their middle order. The likes of Surya Kumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik and Krunal Pandya have failed to match their respective numbers from the past.
One of the other strengths of the Mumbai Indians middle order is the amount of times the four players listed above have managed to finish off the innings or remain unbeaten after the 20th over whilst chasing or batting first.
| Batsman | No of not-outs in 2020 | No of not-outs in 2021 (11 matches) |
| Surya Kumar Yadav | 3 | 0 |
| Ishan Kishan | 4 | 0 |
| Krunal Pandya | 6 | 1 |
| Hardik Pandya | 5 | 1 |
| Combination of all 4 batsman | 18 | 2 |
Kieron Pollard has been the only middle order batsman that has been able to maintain his lofty expectations. If the Mumbai Indians are to defend their crown then the onus is on the middle order to improve their form.