In the second T20I on Sunday in Adelaide, Glenn Maxwell scored his fifth T20I century against the West Indies.
During the ICC Cricket World Cup in India last year, top Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell began a run of form that has seen him not only win the team’s sixth major cricket championship but also break or tie a number of significant records. In the second Twenty20 International in Adelaide on Sunday, Maxwell, popularly known as “The Big Show,” scored 120* in 55 balls with 12 fours and eight sixes to record his sixth Twenty20 century against the West Indies. He struck out 218.88 times in his runs.
Maxwell has scored 106* in 44 balls against the Netherlands, 41 against New Zealand, 201* against Afghanistan to secure a memorable victory, 1 against South Africa in the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup, 2* against India in the final, 12 and 104* against India in Twenty20 Internationals, and 10 and 120* against the West Indies in Twenty20 Internationals in his last nine international innings.
The all-rounder has amassed 597 runs at an average of 119.40 in these nine innings, including three hundreds and a double century.
‘The Big Show’ has smashed a number of significant records in this brief stint of cricket with his trademark ramps, sweeps, reverse sweeps, and slogs.
His century against the Netherlands in October at the World Cup came up in just 40 balls, smashing the mark set by South Africa’s Aiden Markram (49 balls against Sri Lanka in the same event) for the fastest century in the tournament’s illustrious history.
With pride and inspiration shining in their eyes, cricket enthusiasts will tell the next generation about Maxwell’s 201* against Afghanistan. Maxwell and captain Pat Cummins produced an amazing comeback, tottering at 91/7 in the run-chase of 292 against a youthful, promising Afghanistan side.
Even though he was exhausted, experiencing back discomfort, and cramps, Maxwell overcame all the odds and pain by using his bat like a sword and hardly using any footwork to score Australia’s first-ever double ton in 128 balls with 21 fours and 10 sixes. It is also the highest score achieved in a run-chase that revealed the big-match experience and championship titles gaps between Afghanistan and Australia.
The fact that Maxwell hit the winning runs for Australia, defeating India to win the sixth World Cup title in their own backyard on November 19 at Ahmedabad’s crammed Narendra Modi Stadium, would undoubtedly make him treasure those runs even though they did not contribute much to his stats.
Next, a youthful Ruturaj Gaikwad made his first T20I century in a November T20I series against India, but Maxwell stole the show and the spotlight from him. With eight fours and eight sixes in 48 balls, Maxwell’s 104* helped chase down India’s enormous 223-run target. In just 47 balls, Maxwell became the fastest Australian to reach a century in Twenty20 international cricket, tied with Aaron Finch.
This fifth T20I century against the West Indies now ties the record held by Indian captain Rohit Sharma for the most T20I centuries. Maxwell reached five century in just 102 games and 94 innings, compared to Rohit’s 151 games and 143 innings.Will Australia win its second ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA under record-breaking Maxwell’s continued record-breaking form? Time will tell.
