PBKS Practice Match: Glenn Maxwell & Aaron Hardie Impress in Punjab Kings Intra Squad Clash Ahead of IPL 2025

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All-round Glenn Maxwell impressed on his second coming to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) during team's intra squad match simulation at the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Maxwell, who had spent seven years with the PBKS, returned to the franchise at the IPL Mega Auction last year after being released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In his previous stint at PBKS, Maxwell had amassed 1294 runs in 65 matches and also claimed 13 wickets with his off spin.

On Friday (March 21), Maxwell had his first hit out in the middle as PBKS continued their preparations under new coach Ricky Ponting. The 36-year-old, who had faded off in his final season with RCB, starred with both bat and ball in the practice game at the Mullanpur Stadium.

In a side dominated by Australians, all-rounder Aaron Hardie also starred in the warm up game, scoring a fifty, which eventually went in vain for his team on the night as his compatriots Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis overshadowed his performance.

Batting first, PBKS A have put 202 runs on board in 20 overs, led by Maxwell and Stoinis' knocks of 40 and 47 runs respectively. Maxwell just took 20 balls to get to 40, and scored 4 fours and 2 sixes during his swift innings.

Young opener Priyansh Arya, who also shone in the first practice match, gave his side a quick start with 28 runs in 12 balls. Suryansh Shedge scored 23 runs, whereas, Pyla Avinash remained unbeaten on 38 runs in 16 balls and steered his team to a great total of 202.

Xavier Bartlett took 2 wickets for PBKS B whereas, Yuzvendera Chahal, Marco Jansen and Lockie Ferguson took one wicket each as some of the overseas stars had their first match simulation before the campaign gets under way.

In return, PBKS B fell short by 20 runs and scored 182 runs. Hardie top scored for them with 53 runs off 28 balls while Marco Jansen contributed with 30 runs off 22 balls. Maxwell, Vyshak Vijay Kumar and Kuldeep Sen took 2 wickets each, whereas, Arshdeep Singh and Harpreet Brar took one wicket each.

In the previous warm up match, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh had impressed alongside youngster Priyansh, who has auditioned well to take the openers slot when PBKS begin their IPL 2025 campaign on Tuesday (March 25) in Ahmedabad against Gujarat Titans (GT).