Sky's the limit for Mad Maxi

lsquoYes Dad he was not to be stopped tonight I have no regrets over not watching him at Wankhede any longerrdquo read a text message on Sambuddha Chakrabortyrsquos phone minutes after Glenn Maxwell pulled off another stunning oneman Houdini Act to carry Australia to a nervewracking fivewicket victory over India in the third T20I on TuesdayldquoCracking game beta A master class by the Aussiesrdquo pat came the responseAlso ReadWhere cricket is all play and no restMaxwells brutal 104 off 48 balls 8x4 8x6 helped the visitors surge past Indias massive 222 for three built around Ruturaj Gaikwads maiden international century a 57ball 123 in the last ball of the match In the process of making 225 for five the newlycrowned World Cup champions also cut Indias lead to 21 in the fivematch seriesOne of the fittest allrounders in modernday cricket The most patient fearless indomitable atypical batsman in recent times The ultimate gamechanger Maxwell may well tick all those boxes Whats not to love about himWhen he strides out to bat it is with the air of a man who owns the entire arena The schoolboy smile the eyes a gentle European blue the physique as menacing as plastic cutlery Behind such frail and uncommonly deceptive features lie an allconsuming omnipotent force that has declaimed Australias standing at the top of the pileAlso ReadThis too shall passSambuddha an ardent fan of the 35yearold has not missed any of Australiarsquos matches in the World Cup except for the Afghanistan tie at Wankhede His father Dwaipayan was in the hospital then for a stem cell transplant in what he hoped would be the final part of lsquothis chapter of his battlersquo with acute myeloid leukemialdquoThat was a tough day for me but also a day where I learned so much about life and other things Dad was hospitalised for four months and seeing him suffer in the operating room Mom and I nearly died a little each minute Back in the hospital I had tears in my eyes while watching him Maxwell battle it out on the field in the face of severe cramping Thatrsquos why I love the game and this man That day he taught us to never give up hoperdquo he recalledMaxwells powerpacked innings on Tuesday was a quick reminder of his epic double hundred against Afghanistan in the World Cup when he completed a miraculous chase from 917ldquoThat was the only day I missed watching him live in this World Cup Not that I had a choice But it was still so worth it The next morning after Dad woke up I showed him the highlights of his innings and he was overjoyed He could not join me here but we were on a video call right from when he walked out to bat It feels magical to witness something like thisrdquo said SambuddhaMaxwellrsquos century against India might not have been that big in volume or on occasion but it gave a meek Australian side a foothold in the series With 21 runs required off the last over Matthew Wadersquos men were always in with a chance through Maxwells presence who time and again toyed with speedster Prasidh Krishnas nerveslsquoIt was always going to take our best and one of the best players thats ever played T20s for Australia played his 100th game and got a hundred so pretty special for himrsquo were the words of a proud skipper shortly after the matchBefore Maxwell unleashed absolute carnage Australia lost three wickets for 21 runs to reel at 68 for three following which Travis Head gave them a quick start with 35 off 18 balls but Avesh Khan finally had his measure with a slow ball An Australian triumph seemed an outside possibility till the penultimate over as the equation read 43 runs from 12 balls on the scoreboard But as Sambuddha remarked lsquoMaxi hai toh possible hai if Maxwell is at the crease anything is possiblersquoSeemingly never fazed Maxwell resembling a knight in shining armour once more carried a fragile Australian batting on his slim shoulders For sure as long as cricket is celebrated he will be hailed among the finest