ISLAMABAD: Australian maestro batter Glenn Maxwell turned the table on Afghanistan while snatching the victory from the emerging team at the ICC World Cup. Despite filing a decent total of 291 runs on board, Afghanistan’s pace and spin attack almost destroyed the Australian batting line, but Glenn Maxwell came into the middle to rescue the Aussies, smashing a brilliant innings of 201 not out to beat Afghanistan by three wickets in the crucial ICC World Cup match played at Wankhede Stadium, India on Tuesday.
Afghanistan had managed to dismiss 7 batters of Australia on just 91 runs in 19 overs, but it was Maxwell who contributed an unprecedented innings to pull his team off from nowhere.
Chasing a total of 292 to win, Australia came under pressure from the very start when pacer Naveel-ul-Haq dismissed opener Travis Head on a duck in 2nd over of the innings. In the 6th over, when the score reached 43, Naveen struck again and removed Mitchell Marsh on 24.
In the 9th over, which was almost the turning point (excluding the later show by Maxwell) of the game, Azmatullah Omarzai got two wickets on 2 balls. First he bowled out David Warner on 18 and, on the very next ball, dismissed Josh Inglis on a duck. It was the time when Afghanistan fully dominated the game. In the 15th over, Australia lost their 5th wicket when Marnus Labuschagne got run-out on 14.
When the score reached 87 in 16.3 overs, Rashid Khan got the wicket of Marcus Stoinis. Australian batters in the middle were unable to resist Afghanistan bowlers except Glenn Maxwell, who showed some resistance. Meanwhile, in his next over, Rashid Khan also got rid of Mitchell Starc on 3. At the stage, Australia were 91 for 7 in 18.3 overs and were still far away from the target.
Starc was replaced by the skipper Pat Cummins who along with Maxwell, managed to stay on the crease. Maxwell also completed his half-century on 51 balls, including 7 fours. At the stage 130 runs for 7 wickets in 25.2 overs. The only hurdle for Afghanistan was Glen Maxwell, who was accelerating the innings despite losing wickets of the other batters.
After completing his fifty, Maxwell became lethal with more aggression against Afghan bowlers. Pat Commins accompanied him well while securing the other hand. After 32 overs, Australia reached 183 for 7 with Maxwell on the crease, scoring 97 not out on 74 balls. The partnership became a threat for Afghanistan as in the next over, Maxwell completed his terrific hundred on 76 balls, including 3 sixes and 10 boundaries. Both batters also completed 100 runs partnership to become closer to the target.
In the 41st over, Australia reached 237 for 7 while Maxwell was on the crease on 147. At the stage, it seemed a fifty-fifty game. Meanwhile suffered from cramps for the second time and called for medical treatment. However, he managed to resume the game despite feeling pain. After the second cramp, Maxwell was unable to run for single and double, so he relied only on boundaries. T was something special and unique where Maxwell became a nightmare for Afghanistan despite his injury. After 45 overs, Australia were 267 for 7 while Maxwell remained on the crease on 177.
At the stage, Maxwell also resumed taking singles but with pain.
In other words, Maxwell single-handedly snatched the game away from Afghanistan. On 5th ball of the 47th over, he not only completed his double hundred but snatched the game from Afghanistan.
Australia won the game by 3 wickets with 19 balls to spare. Maxwell remained unbeaten on 201. Both batters contributed 202 runs in partnership, including just 12 runs by Pat Cummins. It was the highest 8th-wicket partnership by any team in One Day International.
From Afghanistan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Rashid Khan took 2 wickets each.
Afghanistan Batting Against Australia
Earlier, after winning the toss, Afghanistan decided to bat first. Both the openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, went to a steady start and tried to save the wickets in the first 6 overs. However, in the 8th over, while accelerating the innings, Gurbaz was dismissed on 21. He was replaced by the in-form Rahmat Shah who smashed three consecutive half-centuries in the last 3 matches.
Both Rehmat and Zadran took the score to cross the first hundred in the first 20 overs with an average of 5 runs per over. Meanwhile, Zadran also completed his fine half-century. In the 25th over, Rehmat Shah was dismissed by Maxwell on 30, when the total reached 121.
After Rehmat Shah, the skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi pushed the scoreboard with Ibrahim Zadran. In the 38th over, Starc got rid of Shahidi on 26. The next was Azmatullah Omarzai, who was dismissed by Zampa after adding a quick 18 runs to the total. Omarzai was replaced by Nabi who was sent on a mission to accelerate the innings further. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Zadran completed his terrific century on 131 balls, including 7 boundaries.
In the next over, Hazlewood bowled out Nabi on 12. At the stage, Afghanistan were 233 for 5 in 45.3 overs. Nabi was replaced by Rashid, who also contributed quick runs to the total. He scored 35 runs on 18 balls. Ibrahim Zadran scored 129 on 143 balls as unbeaten and remained on the crease from the start till the last over of the game. Afghanistan managed to score 291 for 5 in 50 overs.
From Australia, Josh Hazlewood took 2 wickets each, while Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, and Glenn Maxwell grabbed one wicket each.
Afghanistan Team
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad and Naveen-ul-Haq
Australia Team
Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood
