Australian star Glenn Maxwell lit up the Big Bash League on Sunday, smashing 90 off 52 balls including an incredible 79 out of 81 runs in a BBL-record eight wicket partnership with Usama Mir.
In an intra-city derby between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades at the Docklands Stadium, Renegades skipper Will Sutherland won the toss and put the Stars in to bat.
His decision looked to be vindicated as the Stars stood at a meagre 17-2 after four overs, having lost Sam Harper and Ben Duckett. By the seventh over, they had slid to 45-4, bringing Glenn Maxwell to the crease.
But even as Maxwell remained firm at one end, he began to run out of partners. Marcus Stoinis holed out at long on in the eighth over before Hilton Cartwright nicked off in the tenth. Joel Paris was run out in spectacular fashion by Harry Dixon off the final ball of the 11th over to leave the Stars struggling at 75-7.
At that point, Maxwell was on 10 off eight balls, and Pakistani leg spinner Usama Mir walked out at No.9.
The Stars took their two-over Power Surge immediately, and Maxwell managed to retain strike for all 12 balls and collect 21 runs for his side, including two sixes. Mir's first ball faced was the final one of the 14th over, which he kept out.
In a masterclass in farming the strike, Maxwell managed to make sure that he stayed at the batting end and find the boundary with regularity. He took 17 runs off Kane Richardson in the 17th over, including a massive 122-metre long six. He started the 18th with three maximums in a row off opposition skipper Sutherland, eventually taking 22 off the over.
