"One of my close friends" - Glenn Maxwell looking forward towards his duel with Yuzvendra Chahal in IPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Glenn Maxwell underlined that he is looking forward to facing Rajasthan Royals leggie Yuzvendra Chahal on Sunday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The dynamic Aussie cricketer claimed that Chahal happens to be one of his closest friends.

The contest between Chahal and Maxwell happens to be an intriguing one in limited-overs cricket as the latter prefers attacking the spinners. While the Australian strikes at 189.41 against Chahal, the leggie has also got him six times.

Speaking at a pre-game interview, here's what Maxwell said when asked about match-ups against the Royals:

"They've got a very few guys who are very experienced in T20 cricket. Trent Boult has played for the Melbourne Stars. Yuzi Chahal is obviously a former player here and one of my close friends, so I'm looking forward to facing him."

The Victorian also highlighted that two in-form players at the top of the order gave him freedom, elaborating:

"It's a nice little advantage for me. It gives me a lot of freedom as against coming in the middle overs and being able to play freely in the middle order. We are blessed with two guys at the top who have gone about their own way and they are doing a great job for us."

Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli are amongst the best opening partnerships and top run-getters in IPL 2023. Du Plessis is also the Orange Cap holder currently with over 350 runs.

---

"I feel like we haven't been all that bad" - Glenn Maxwell on RCB's death bowling

Glenn Maxwell has been in decent form in IPL 2023. (Credits: Twitter)

Reflecting on RCB's death bowling, Maxwell feels they haven't been extremely poor and have adapted to the conditions well despite not being completely favorable.

"I feel like we haven't been all that bad, but teams have played quite well against us. Looking back at the LSG game, our last four overs were exceptional, but unfortunately, the damage was done before that. However, we have done a good job of adapting to what's in front of us. We haven't got the easiest bowling conditions on this ground, but we are trying to find a method."

Meanwhile, the Royals have won the toss and chosen to bowl first. Trent Boult has removed Kohli for a golden duck on the very first ball of the innings.