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Glenn Maxwell praises Virat Kohli, slams 'untrue' reporting

Sydney, Jan 22: Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell today clarified his comments on India's star batsman Virat Kohli and slammed the reporting in the media as "untrue".

Ind-Aus series schedule</a>; <a href=Photo gallery; 5th ODI preview" title="Ind-Aus series schedule; Photo gallery; 5th ODI preview" />Ind-Aus series schedule; Photo gallery; 5th ODI preview

According to a report in the Australian media, Maxwell criticised Kohli for slowing down as he approached his century in the 4th ODI in Canberra. (Another record for Kohli)

Glenn Maxwell (pictured) has clarified his comments on Virat Kohli

At the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday (January 20), Kohli (106) scored his 25th ODI ton, being the fastest to the milestone. (I don't go to field to fight: Kohli on Faulkner incident)

But his and Shikhar Dhawan's century were not enough as India went down by 25 runs to hand the hosts 4-0 series lead in the 5-match rubber. Chasing 349, India were cruising at 277/1 but lost their last 9 wickets for just 46 runs. (Indian batsmen not selfish: Dhoni)

"I was asked to give a bit of an assessment of who was dominating with the bat in this series, and I said 'I don't think anyone in the world is hitting the ball better than Virat at the moment'," Maxwell told Cricket Australia's (CA) website on Friday (January 22), clarifying his comments on Kohli.

Maxwell, who is injured and might not play the 5th and final ODI tomorrow (January 23) in Sydney, said they were in awe of Kohli and he had a good relationship with him off the field. Maxwell had also tweeted that he complimented Kohli after his ton in Canberra.

"A lot of us are still in awe of what he (Kohli) can do on the field, and the way that he all but took the game away from us the other night in Canberra was something that we were pretty much powerless to stop.

"But some of the reporting I've seen today makes it seem like I was personally attacking one of the best players in the game about the way he plays, which is completely untrue.

Virat Kohli celebrates his 25th ODI century in Canberra

"The point that I was making, and it related more to when India were setting totals and had plenty of wickets in hand, is that the scoring rate seemed to slow as milestones got close, which can sometimes be the case, especially when teams are batting first.

"Maintaining a constant scoring rate can be less straightforward batting first than when you're chasing and you know what the required rate has to be, and there have been times when batters just seem to have slowed a bit to make sure they reach those milestones.

"Sometimes that wins you games, and sometimes it doesn't but that was the only point I was trying to make.

"I've got a really good relationship with Virat off the field and I've already had a chat with him," Maxwell, who hit a match-winning 96 in the 3rd ODI, said.

After the ODI series, India and Australia will face off in 3 Twenty20 Internationals starting in Adelaide on January 26 (Tuesday).

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 7:28 [IST]
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