Chasing 292 runs against Afghanistan, Australia lost 7 wickets for just 91 runs. But Glenn Maxwell didn’t let Rashid, Gurbaz, Naveen, and Azmatullah become the heroes that day. The Aussie all-rounder single-handedly robbed the Afghanstan’s victory at the Wankhede Stadium by playing the role of the villain.
Maxwell’s heroic unbeaten innings of 201 helped Australia to a 3-wicket win with 19 balls to spare in the World Cup in India on Tuesday (November 7). The five-time world champions confirmed the semi-finals of the tournament as the third team after India and South Africa.
Maxwell scored his first double-century in his ODI career with 21 fours and 10 sixes in 128 balls. This is the fastest double-century in World Cup history. Earlier, Chris Gayle scored a 138-ball double-century against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup. Excluding the World Cup, Ishan Kishan’s 126-ball double-century against Bangladesh last year is the record for the fastest double in the A version.
Naveen Ul Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan took 2 wickets each for Afghanistan. Earlier, no Aussie batsman could shine with the bat at the Wankhede Stadium without Maxwell. Only 91 runs were scored by 7 batters.
In the second over of the innings, Travis Head returned to the dressing room after being caught behind. Despite facing 2 balls, he did not get a chance to open the account of runs. Mitchell Marsh was lbw by Naveen Ul Haque in the sixth over of the innings. His innings stopped at 24 runs off 11 balls. After that, the Aussies fell into a batting disaster. Azmatullah Omarzai sent back David Warner and Josh English with two consecutive balls in the ninth over. Warner made 28 off 29 balls and English returned with the golden duck.
Marnus Labuschagne also failed to lead the team in disaster. Aussies, who lost the second wicket for 43 runs, lost the fifth wicket in 69 runs. After Naveen-Omarzai, Rashid Khan came on the attack and disrupted Aussie’s batting lineup. Marcus Stoinis scored 6 runs off 7 balls and Mitchell Starc got 3 runs off 7 balls. Aussies were almost knocked out of the match after losing 7 wickets before 100 runs.
After England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, this time the five-time world champions, the Afghans were waiting to create a big event. But Maxwell did not let Rashid-Navin become the hero of the victory. The Aussie all-rounder, who came to bat at number six, played the role of a villain at the Wankhede Stadium that day. Pat Cummins also gradually took control of the match keeping on the sidelines. The flood of boundaries and over boundaries took away the confidence of the Afghan bowlers.
However, Maxwell was also under pressure in the beginning. Got life, came back alive with a review from LBW, and also suffered from cramp problems after scoring a fifty. The team doctor came and nursed him several times. At one point he lost the ability to run. From there, Maxwell gave the team an incredible victory with 19 balls in hand by scoring a double-century by beating the Afghan bowlers. Cummins was unbeaten on 12 runs off 68 balls.
Earlier, Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s unbeaten innings of 129 runs from 143 balls had collected 291 runs after losing 5 wickets in the scheduled 50 overs. Rashid Khan also played a role in increasing the capital of the party. In the end, he was unbeaten on 35 runs off 18 balls. Josh Hazlewood took 2 wickets at the cost of 39 runs for Aussies. Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, and Adam Zampa took 1 wicket each.
Meanwhile, Australia confirmed the semi-final with one match in hand by winning against Afghanistan. After 8 matches their points are 12. On the other hand, it is difficult for Afghanistan to lose. Their competitors are Pakistan and New Zealand in the race for fourth place. At the end of 8 matches, all three teams have 8 points.
Afghanistan – 291/5 (50.0)
Australia – 293/7 (46.5)
Result – Australia won by 3 wickets
Player of the match – Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell
Australia | Pat Cummins (c), Josh Inglis (wk), David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh, Adam Zampa, Travis Head, Josh Hazlewood |
Afghanistan | Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmat Shah, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen-ul-Haq |
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