Glenn Maxwell scored 62 off 36 balls to seal Australia’s two-wicket win over South Africa
The victory gave Australia a 2-1 in the T20 series, with Maxwell named Player of the Match
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh praised the veteran, saying that his side are "lucky" to have a versatile batter like Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell propelled Australia to a dramatic victory over South Africa on Saturday, and Mitchell Marsh is thrilled to have him on side.
Maxwell plundered an unbeaten 62 off 36 balls to not only bring up his first T20I century in over a year, but also edge Australia to a two-wicket win with just one ball to spare.
The 36-year-old has now put on 14 scores of 50+ when batting at four or lower in T20Is — joint-second with Eoin Morgan. Only Suryakumar Yadav (17) has more.
It was a sensational display that not only sealed the match, but a 2-1 series win, and Australia captain Marsh was quick to hail Maxwell's impact.
He said: "Obviously, it's always nice to win the close ones in T20 cricket, and it was a little bit unorthodox, but very thankful that Max got us over the line.
"You never know what's going to happen, that's for sure, but he's a world-class player. He's been so flexible.
"I think he's batted in three different positions in each game, and we're just lucky to have him. He does everything, and he was class tonight."
Maxwell was awarded the Player of the Match award for his efforts.
"It was a little bit nerve-wracking," said Maxwell.
"I think when we lost a couple of wickets in a row, Corbin Bosch bowled a brilliant over to keep the run rate near nine or ten and we were down the two wickets and I probably had to do the majority of the striking, but it was nice to get a couple out of the middle right near the end."
South Africa skipper Aiden Markram, meanwhile, rued the fine margins.
"[It was a] good game of cricket, we ended up on the wrong side of it, unfortunately," he said.
"Always small margins and when you reflect a lot of could have been's and should have been's and what if's, but I'm proud of the fight.
"[South Africa's score of] 172 was maybe not enough on the night, but we pretty much almost made it enough, so some really good signs with the ball, so still some good things to take from it."
