Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Glenn Maxwell revealed that seeing the way Chennai Super Kings spinners Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja operating in the first innings helped him see how the pitch was offering help for slower bowlers at MCA Stadium.
On Wednesday, in defense of 173/8, Maxwell took out Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa in quick succession to finish with figures of 2/22 and be one of the main factors in Bangalore winning the match by 13 runs.
"With the way that Moeen Ali and Jadeja bowled in the first innings, it showed that the finger spinners were getting a bit of hold and getting a little bit of grip out of the surface. For me it was just about trying to pitch the ball on the stumps as much as I can and try to vary the seam angle to try and get that variable spin out of the wicket," said Maxwell after the match.
In this season of IPL 2022, Bangalore's bowling has been a big strength for the Faf du Plessis-led side, which was seen in them restricting Chennai to 160/8 in 20 overs. Harshal Patel starred with 3/35 while Josh Hazelwood, Shahbaz Ahmed and Wanindu Hasaranga took a wicket apiece.
"It was a really good bowling effort. We felt there was enough tackiness in the wicket to exploit with our spinners and then for our quicks to hold their nerve at the back end with some really powerful death hitters, they did a great job to finish that game," observed Maxwell.
Asked about how bowling with the around the wicket angle helped him in the game, Maxwell explained, "It was helpful to have a couple of lefties out there where I was able to turn the ball away from the bat and just give us another option at the back end as well. I think it (around the wicket) just shuts down one side of the ground."
"With the Robin (Uthappa dismissal), if I do that from over the stumps, it becomes more of a pull shot for him which is more of his strength. To be able to cramp him up and not give him a free swing was key at that stage."
With Bangalore now at fourth place in the points table, Maxwell hoped for the side to continue with winning ways to have a chance at qualifying for the playoffs after breaking three-match losing streak. "We've gone through troughs in this tournament so hopefully we can ride this momentum. Winning momentum is hard to stop and we feel like our batters are starting to hit the middle of the bat more and more."
"With our bowlers starting to gel, we feel like we're starting to go in the right direction. Hopefully we haven't left it too late and we can peak right towards finals and find away into that top four and do some damage in the finals."
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