NEW DELHI: New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and Australia's Glenn Maxwell might have had a poor run in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), but the two cricketers played match-winning knocks for their respective national teams on Friday.
The fact that the two Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) cricketers put up impressive shows in national colours was not lost on the fans and they took to social media to point out the same.
After the game, Neesham who is famous for his quirky takes on social media responded to a funny meme featuring KXIP skipper KL Rahul.
Maxwell while replying to Neesham said he actually apologised to Rahul, who handled the wicket-keeping duties for India in the first ODI.
"I apologised to him while I was batting," Maxwell tweeted.
The Australian batsman didn't hit a single six in 13 matches of the IPL in Dubai, but whacked three from his first 15 balls against India in the opening ODI. In fact, his 19-ball 45 was instrumental in taking the game out of India's reach.
On the other hand, Neesham, who scored just 10 runs in five games in the IPL this year, smashed 48 runs off just 24 balls to hand his side a five-wicket win against West Indies from a position where it looked almost impossible for the home side to come out victorious.
In Sydney, India was outplayed in all departments as Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood continued from where the batters left to derail the Indian chase. While Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya did look to take the game deep, it was just a matter of breaking their stand. The Men in Blue will next lock horns with the Aussies in a must-win second ODI on Sunday.