EXACTLY a year ago, Glenn Maxwell’s maiden T20 century against Sri Lanka at Kandy not just created a personal milestone for him, but, also aided Australia in scoring the highest innings total in a T20I.

It happened during the first T20I of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan captain, Dinesh Chandimal, had won the toss and put Australia in to bat. Australia sending in Maxwell to open the innings along side David Warner, who was leading the side, was in itself a statement made before the first ball was bowled.

At the end of the powerplay, Australia had score 73-1. Having scored 36 runs off 18 balls, Maxwell had already warmed up for a mammoth innings. The brutality with which he was hitting the ball was signs of something more destructive to follow. With a six off Kasun Rajitha, he brought up his half-century off 27 balls in the ninth over.

In the following over, Australia crossed the 100-run mark. Usman Khawaja played second-fiddle to Maxwell, but, got out in the 14th over. It did not bring an iota of change in Maxwell’s approach as he continued to march along. He brought up his hundred off 49 balls in the 16th over.

Maxwell ended up scoring 145* (65) with the help of 14 fours and nine sixes. He is only behind his team mate, Aaron Finch, who scored 156 (63) against England in 2013. Australia ended up scoring 263-3 in 20 overs, surpassing Sri Lanka’s record of 260-6 vs Kenya in 2007. Watch the full video of Maxwell’s innings: