Bailey benefits from Maxwell exploits

Australian captain George Bailey lauded a sterling effort from batsman Glenn Maxwell, after Wednesday's fourth ODI against India in Ranchi was washed out.

Australian captain George Bailey lauded a sterling effort from batsman Glenn Maxwell, after Wednesday's fourth ODI against India in Ranchi was washed out.

The Aussies amassed a formidable total of 295 for eight on the back of Bailey's 98 and Maxwell's 92, with the latter striking all of six boundaries and a quintet of big sixes across a thrilling vigil that spanned a mere 77b deliveries.

An expectant JSCA International Stadium Complex crowd, however, were robbed of an exciting pursuit – as rain had the final say a mere 25 balls into India's innings, with openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan on nine not out and 14 not out respectively.

"I think Maxy's innings was absolutely superb. We've seen his hitting before and we've seen how he can take games away late in an innings. But to come in with the team under pressure, with the ball still doing a little bit, I thought he summed it up," said Bailey.

"He still hit the boundaries and sixes but he hit them off the balls that he needed to hit. He didn't take any risks. They were smart shots in his areas. He took the pressure off me. When you've got someone scoring at the pace he was, it put the pressure right back on India. It was a great knock."

The right-handed Maxwell's cavalier knock was lined with audacious shot selection, including a couple of fruitful reverse sweeps against spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, beforee seamer Vinay Kumar struck with a reasonably plumb lbw dismissal.

"Glenn practises that as much as I've ever seen anyone practise it. No more so than I see Shane Watson practising the straight drive. If that's a shot he's put the time into – and we've seen him put that time into it – then he has absolutely every right to play it. As long as the circumstances are right. I think the field that he had and the plan that he had was spot on. And he executed them both very well," added Bailey.

The tourists lead the seven-match series two-one. The fifth ODI will get underway at the Barabati Stadium on Saturday. Nagpur and Bangalore will host fixtures six and seven respectively.

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