In a game that saw records aplenty being broken for fun, it was all about Glenn Maxwell, who made the most of his promotion, scored his maiden T20 century and helped his side set up the highest score by a team in T20Is. The joint-highest T20 total of all-time proved to be too much for Sri Lanka who lost by 85 runs.
After winning the toss and electing to field that wasn’t what Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal might have had in mind but on a day when Maxwell made his mind up to score big, there was simply no stopping the destructive batsman from scoring runs wherever he wanted.
While the quality of some of the bowling didn’t help their cause a great deal, most of Maxwell’s hits would have cleared most grounds and in the mood he was in, few could have stopped him from doing what he wanted. And thus, Australia scored 263/3 and set up a gigantic 264 to win.
Also read: Records broken in the first T20I between Sri Lanka and Australia
In response, the hosts were never really in the running despite a fifty from their captain, especially after Tillakaratne Dilshan perished early. In the end, they lost by 85 runs, their heaviest defeat in the format, despite a valiant attempt.
Maxwell reveals which sweep he prefers
For his unbeaten 145, Glenn Maxwell claimed the Man of the Match: He said: “A little bit instinctive, tried to hit my areas based on the field. Been playing really well in the T20 format, at the top is an easier place to bat. I find the reverse sweep easier to play (than the sweep). Lucky to take advantage of some loose bowling."
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal said: "I'm really disappointed with the way we bowled. if we restricted them to under 200, we would have had a chance. These things happen in cricket, a lot of youngsters, we need to regroup, we'll come back stronger in the next game. We came for practice in the last two days, and saw some moisture so we decided to bowl. Need a good gameplan for the bowlers.”
Australian captain David Warner said: "I would have batted first. Me and the coach had a word yesterday, and I thought to give the bloke (Maxwell) an opportunity, I like a right-hand, left-hand combination at the top. Credit to him, he has worked hard at home. Tonight was all Maxi.”
Here are the reactions from the cricket fraternity:
Virender Sehwag:
Aaron Finch was full of praise for Maxwell:
And Maxwell responded soon enough:
But it didn't take Finch too long to remind Maxwell who was still top and console him too:
Plenty of praise came Maxwell’s way, his Yorkshire teammate Jack Brooks:
Dean Jones:
Mahela Jayawardene:
Kumar Sangakkara:
Russell Arnold:
Damien Martyn, whose record of most runs in maiden T20I innings as opener he broke, was impressed as well.
Harsha Bhogle:
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