Mahendra Singh Dhoni, once again, drew flak for his low strike-rate against Australia in the first T20 International in Visakhapatnam. He scored 29 off 37 balls as India, batting first, scored 126/7. Australia chased down the target in the final over.

After the match, Glenn Maxwell conceded that it was difficult to score runs on a sluggish pitch.

“It (Dhoni’s slow strike rate) was probably fair enough. With the way the wicket was behaving, it was difficult to score for any batter, let alone a guy who is not known for his power-hitting in [Yuzvendra] Chahal,” Maxwell said in Dhoni’s defence while also referring to Chahal’s attempts to hit sixes.

Balls kept low after pitching and Dhoni could manage only one six.

“MS is obviously a world-class finisher and even he was finding it hard to hit the middle of the bat. So, I think it was right of him to try and farm the strike. He hit a six in the last over and I think that showed how difficult it was,” Maxwell said.

“If you are holding MS to one boundary in the last few overs, it’s a pretty good effort and also a sign of the conditions as well.”

‘Not sure if I’ll be in World Cup squad’

Despite scoring 56 off 43 balls Maxwell is not sure of his place in the 15-member World Cup squad.

“I have no idea if I am going to be in that World Cup squad or what number I’m going to bat, so I suppose it just comes down to opportunity – if I can keep making most of opportunities like tonight,” he said.

“If I can turn those sort of innings into not-out, 75-ish, and be consistent that way, I think I can probably go a long way in pencilling my name for the World Cup and hopefully continue that job for the rest of this year,” Maxwell said.

The touring Australian teams, over the last few years, have struggled in close matches. Sunday’s win, hence, will help the team’s confidence, feels Glenn Maxwell.

“A lot of times when you come over here and you get into these close games and you lose them so often. The home crowd can get behind the team and you can lose. It can just put your momentum back,” he said.

“Probably, we got ourselves into trouble by the last over. Probably, we should have lost if it wasn’t for Cummins and Richardson. It was outstanding. It can just bring the whole group together,” Maxwell said.

“To have a result like this on our first game on tour is great for our confidence and something that we can hopefully ride and build the momentum. Hopefully, we can start off our World Cup preparation on a good note.”