Australian and Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was all praise for Mayank Yadav, the pace sensation of the Lucknow Super Giants. The explosive batter drew comparisons between the young Indian star’s speed and that of former Australian quick Shaun Tait.
Mayank’s explosive pace, which regularly touched above 150, devoured three RCB batters including Maxwell in his second outing after an outstanding three-wicket performance against Punjab Kings on his debut. During the game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Mayank also produced one of the fastest deliveries in IPL history, clocking in at 156.77 kph.
He has some extra pace: Maxwell
“I thought it was really impressive. He hurried on a few of the Punjab batters and I certainly did a little bit of homework before coming up against him. But it’s nothing doing homework against someone until you actually see it coming out of the hand and have to try and pick up the length,” Maxwell said on ESPN’s ‘Around the Wicket’.
“He bowled me the first one which was just a high bouncer and the wicket that we’ve been producing at Bengaluru has been a little bit two-paced and it sort of came through a bit slower than I thought it was going to. I was like, ah, that wasn’t too bad.
“And then the next one was hard length and skidded on probably faster than I thought it was going to be and as you saw I went to pull thinking that I picked up the length really well. Before you know it, it’s on you, hitting the shoulder the bat and ballooning up in the air.
“He has some real extra speed that you don’t really see a lot of around world cricket at the moment. You see guys bowl pretty consistently around the 140 [kph] or high 140s. But to have mid-150s consistently in your arsenal is pretty formidable,” Maxwell said.
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Pace-wise, Mayank resembles Shaun Tait: Maxwell
Maxwell likened facing Mayank to facing Tait, who is recognized as one of the fastest bowlers in the history of international cricket. With a 157.7 kph rocket in the 2011 IPL, Tait also holds the record for the fastest delivery ever bowled in the IPL.
“It’s such a beautiful smooth action. He sort of glided through the crease really nicely. I think pace-wise, the only one that I can sort of really resemble it to is a little bit like Shaun Tait when he was in his heyday.
“When he was at the peak of his powers it was extremely hard to pick up the extra zip it feels like it has off the wicket. I think that’s as close as it probably comes to it,” Maxwell added.