IPL 2021: Virat Kohli and I set the platform for 'superstar' AB de Villiers during MI vs RCB, says Glenn Maxwell

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman Glenn Maxwell has said that he along with skipper Virat Kohli set the perfect launchpad for AB de Villiers to finish off the game against Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Royal Challengers Bangalore's new recruit Glenn Maxwell stated that he along with his captain Virat Kohli laid the perfected foundation for wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers to finish off the game against Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers (right) and Glenn Maxwell (centre) of Royal Challengers Bangalore.(Twitter)

ABD played a match-winning 27-ball 48 knock, smashing 4 fours and 2 sixes and took RCB to a winning position. Even though he was run-out in the last over of the day, with RCB needing just three, the team managed to seal a win courtesy pacer Harshal Patel hitting the winning runs.

RCB eventually defeated MI by two wickets in the tournament opener on Friday here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

"It was nice to go out there and bat with the captain (Virat Kohli). Nice to not run him out in the first few balls, we were able to have a partnership and that was pretty cool. It would have been nice if one of us was there to finish it off but we set the platform for ABD to do his thing, he is an absolute superstar," Maxwell said in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.

Harshal Patel may have sovled RCB's death-over woes, like skipper Kohli claims. He bowled a sensational spell, pocketing 5/27 in his four overs. He became the first bowler in the history of IPL to bag a five-wicket haul against Mumbai Indians. His spell, that included three wickets for just one run in the last over, helped RCB restrict Mumbai Indians to 159 runs in their 20 overs.

"Harshal was outstanding, I think his first over went for 15, to come back from that and record 5-12 in his last three overs, his final over was brilliant against the backend hitters. He used his yorkers, slower balls, and his execution under pressure was brilliant and massive reason why we were able to keep the score under 160. AB just assessed the conditions as he needed to do on that wicket. He went on to do AB things, some of the shots he played had the guys in awe. He is class," said Maxwell.

In response, RCB stuttered to a last-ball victory. Kohli scored 33, while Maxwell and ABD scored 39 and 48, respectively. After a good start by Kohli and Maxwell, Mumbai struck back with quick wickets to leave the side struggling at 122/6 in the 16th over, needing 38 more runs to win 21 balls. RCB then needed 19 from 2 over and Bumrah was bowling the last over. AB hit him for two fours in the over to take them even closer to the finish line.

When about his thoughts on his batting and the overall match, de Villiers said: "I am very happy with the result, it was a fantastic performance from all of us. We had a shaky start here and there, you can see we have not been together for a while but there were some special individual performances. At halftime, I knew it would be a hard total to chase, it is not an easy wicket. Luckily, we had some experience there to stay calm at the latter stages of the game, what a great win against trophy holders Mumbai Indians."