The 3-0 victory by Australia over Afghanistan was one of the greatest innings in the history of the World Cup, with Glenn Maxwell playing one of the finest innings in history at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday evening.
As Maxwell, 35, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a thriller between him and skipper Pat Cummins, he terrorized Afghanistan’s bowlers and hit them over the park all over the pitch.
As Josh Inglis had just lost his wicket for a golden duck, the 35-year-old came to bat when his side was 49-4 and he was the last man to bat for his team. There were however two separate occasions when Maxwell got a life as Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mujeeb ur Rehman dropped him as a result of injuries.
During the early overs of the match, Afghanistans bowlers gave Australian batters all kinds of trouble, and it seemed as if they were heading towards a certain victory. Shahidi’s men were left with no option but to lose against Maxwell as the right-handed destructive batter gave them no choice and no chance to turn things around.
A lot of Maxwell’s success was due to Cummins playing a calm, sensible knock in which he scored 12 runs in 68 deliveries, which was a great knock by him.
As a result of cramps, the 35-year-old also was unable to run, and, in the last few overs, he played shots without any footwork at all, making it difficult for him to run.
Maxwell went onto become the first ever batter to score two centuries in ODIs batting at No. 5 or lower and he was also the first player in a World Cup edition to score two centuries batting at No. 5 or lower and score a 200 in a chase in ODIs.
It was Ibrahim Zadran who took the field first and became the first Afghan player to achieve a century in the history of the World Cup when he became the first Afghan to achieve this feat.
It was Zadran who, however, was able to lead his team to the victory and help them reach a decent total by coming as an opener and staying until the very end.
With Rashid Khan playing a significant role during the last five overs of the match, the all-rounder gave Zadran a very good support. Zadran in his last five overs scored 35 despite playing just 18 deliveries and hitting two fours and three sixes.
In addition to Rahmat Shah (30), visiting captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (26) and Azmatullah Omarzai (22) playing well for the winning team, the other players contributing as well.
It was not until Josh Hazlewood bowled that the Australian bowlers lived up to expectations. Hazlewood bowled an impressive nine overs for 39 runs and also took two important wickets in the process.
Afghanistan will have to face South Africa once again on November 9 in another crucial match in which the Azadi national team must win.
In the meantime, the final group match between Australia and Bangladesh is scheduled for November 11th.
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