Dubai - Australia's swashbuckling batsman Glenn Maxwell is eagerly looking forward to take on Pakistan in the three match T20I series. The opening game of the series will be played on October 24 in Abu Dhabi followed by the business end in at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
The 2nd& 3rd T20I is scheduled for Friday October 26 & Sunday October 28 respectively. Maxwell loves to play at the Dubai international stadium. He has fond memories of the place during from the bilateral series against Pakistan in 2014. In the 2nd ODI he scored 76 to help his team chase down the target and earn a player of the match award.
“It's a beautiful ground; I have been lucky enough to have some success there as well. There was a one day game that we played there in 2014, I was able to score some runs and take some wickets in the T20I as well, hopefully we can get a decent crowd and really entertain them.”
Maxwell, who averages nearly 33 at a staggering strike rate above 160, will be a crucial cog in Australia's wheel in the bilateral affair against Pakistan. 'We are thoroughly looking forward to the challenge. We had a really good tri-series against Pakistan and Zimbabwe, recently in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, Pakistan got the better of us in the final. Hopefully we can improve our performance by one level and win the tournament (series) here.”
Maxwell and his team a are well aware of the threat posed by Pakistan, who atop the ICC rankings in T20Is. “They (Pakistan) obviously are a very strong unit, have played some really good T20 cricket over the last couple of years to get themselves to the world number 1 spot. We'll have our work cut out, no doubt, guys like Fakhar Zaman, who has been outstanding, especially in that final (Tri-series in Zimbabwe 2018). They have got a good bowling unit.”
They don't rely on one specific bowler, they have got a good unit that works together so we'll have to be at our 'A' game to beat them.”