IPL 2021, RCB vs KKR: Maxwell might end up being 'player of the tournament', says Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said Glenn Maxwell might end up as the player of the tournament after the Australian smashed 78 off 49 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Sunday.

Maxwell's 78 and AB de Villiers' unbeaten 76 off 34 balls helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) post 204 for 4 in 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their ongoing match in the IPL 2021 in Chennai.

RCB skipper Virat Kohli, who had lost seven consecutive tosses against KKR's Eoin Morgan, finally made it 7-1 by winning the toss on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. After opting to bat, RCB lost Kohli and No. 3 batsman Rajat Patidar inside the first two overs.

At 9 for 2, Maxwell joined Devdutt Padikkal at the crease. The Australian all-rounder charged against KKR spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Varun Chakravarthy as he registered a sensational half-century, his eighth in the IPL.

"Love watching Glenn Maxwell bat. He might just end up being the player of the tournament .. slightly under the radar in the same team as Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers1!! RCB looking the strongest I have seen them ... #IPL2021," Vaughan tweeted on Saturday.

Maxwell smashed nine fours and three sixes in his knock of 78 off 49, which was his second successive fifty in the ongoing 14th edition of the tournament. In RCB's previous game, which was against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Maxwell top-scored for his side with 59 off 41 and helped Bangalore to reach a defendable total of 149 for 8. He was named the Player of the Match as SRH, in the end, fell short by six runs.

"It was nice to get in early. It became hard to time the ball as the innings went on, looked to cash in against the new ball. He (AB de Villiers) did it in the first game, showed his class, was an extraordinary knock, just shows that if you give yourself some time, you can play shots on this surface. Looking to make the most of the form. We'll have to bowl well, use the variations, be accurate, playing shots is easy when there is plenty of pace on the ball," Maxwell said in an interview during the innings break on Sunday in Chennai.

The Maxwell show against KKR was eventually overshadowed by AB de Villiers, who also hammered nine fours and three sixes but took only 34 deliveries to score 76. KKR leaked 56 runs in the last three overs. Two of the three overs were bowled by Andre Russell.

De Villiers managed 17 runs off the 18th over, which was bowled by Russell before both de Villiers and Kyle Jamieson went after Harbhajan Singh, scoring 18 runs off the penultimate over of RCB's innings. Russell gave away as many as 21 runs in the final over, which included a six, three fours and two runs, all coming off the South African's willow, apart from a wide bowled by Russell.