Glenn Maxwell, who was injured, struck 201 not out off 128 balls to lead Australia to victory.
Glenn Maxwell’s (201*) incredible double century helped Australia qualify for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-finals. In the later stages of his innings, he was suffering from cramps and pushed his way through to remain at the crease. His double-ton was the best individual score in the history of the Cricket World Cup.
Glenn Maxwell’s (201*) incredible double century helped Australia qualify for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-finals. In the later stages of his innings, he was suffering from cramps and pushed his way through to remain at the crease. His double-ton was the best individual score in the history of the Cricket World Cup.
In the first innings, a magnificent century from Ibrahim Zadran (129*), solid strokes from the middle-order batters, and a strong charge from the lower-order helped Afghanistan reach their best Cricket World Cup total.
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Australia defeats Afghanistan by three wickets
Defending 292, Afghanistan made an early inroad, beginning with Naveen-ul-Haq, who got Travis Head to nick one behind the wicket in the opening over.
Mitchell Marsh attacked to increase the scoring pace, but was undone by a magnificent Naveen delivery that trapped the Australian all-rounder in front of the stumps.
In the ninth over, Azmatullah Omarzai’s double strike reduced Australia from 49/2 to 49/4.
The Australian effort now relied mainly on Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell. The pair accumulated 20 runs for the fifth wicket before Labuschagne was run out by Rahmat Shah’s brilliant performance.
Rashid Khan arrived in the 15th over and wasted little time getting started. His two wickets added to the early damage and ensured that Australia’s innings sank much deeper.
Maxwell and Pat Cummins held on for the next several overs, despite the fact that Afghanistan’s spinners continued to dominate.
Maxwell then accelerated the tempo of the innings with a series of aggressive strokes. He hammered 10 fours and three sixes on his way to a century against the Afghanistan spinners. He nearly single-handedly lifted Australia from 98/7 at the end of the 20th over to 194/7 at the end of the 34th.
Maxwell’s magnificent knock took on epic proportions when the batter pushed on despite severely cramping up. He shuffled around the wicket for singles while taking boundaries.
His condition worsened after slipping while running. Maxwell, unable to sprint at this point, continued on one leg. He unleashed a series of superb strokes to put his team within striking distance of a historic victory.
He had a lot of help from Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins, who hit a Test-like 12 off 68 balls, which was exactly what he needed. Australia won the game in the 47th over thanks to a flurry of hard hits.
Earlier in the day, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz got Afghanistan off to a good start. The batters did not give Australia many chances and maintained a healthy run rate.
Australia made the breakthrough when Gurbaz played an extremely aggressive shot off Josh Hazlewood, allowing Mitchell Starc to catch.
Zadran and Rahmat Shah’s third-wicket stand kept the runs coming. While Zadran handled the loose deliveries, Rahmat got his eye in before stepping up the tempo.
However, Rahmat was undone by one too many forceful shots. The batter attempted an inside-out shot off Glenn Maxwell but failed to connect. He ended up holing out in the deep to Hazlewood.
After the middle over, Afghanistan played it safe, adding runs at a rate of 4.3 between 26 and 35. Mitchell Starc introduced the game’s next great act, destroying Shahidi’s stumps.
Azmatullah Omarzai’s appearance at the crease provided a much-needed lift to the Asian side, as the teenager unleashed a number of appealing strokes.
His powerful hitting eventually proved to be his undoing, as the batter was caught at long-off off Adam Zampa’s bowling in the 43rd over. Ibrahim ultimately reached his century in the 44th over, becoming Afghanistan’s first in a Cricket World Cup. He then quickened his speed.
Cameos from Mohammed Nabi (12 from 10) and Rashid Khan (35* from 18) helped Afghanistan finish strong.
At the toss, Shahidi called it right and chose to bat first. For the Asian side, Naveen-ul-Haq returned to replace Fazalhaq Farooqi.
The return of Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell boosted Australia. Steve Smith, however, missed out due to vertigo issues.
Playing XIs
Afghanistan squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad.
Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
List of records broken by Glenn Maxwell in his incredible double century against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup
Glenn Maxwell hit a sensational double century against Afghanistan to secure Australia’s place in the 2023 World Cup semi-final. Mawell set a slew of records in his 201-run innings, which helped Australia win the 2023 World Cup at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
First Player to Score a Double Century in an ODI While Chasing: There have been a total of ten ODI double century prior to today, but none of them came while batting second.
First Player to Score a Double Century in an ODI While Chasing: There have been a total of ten ODI double century prior to today, but none of them came while batting second.
greatest Individual Score Batting at Number Six or Lower in ODI Cricket: Glenn Maxwell scored the greatest individual score in ODI cricket history while batting at number six or lower. In the 1983 World Cup, he broke Kapil Dev’s record of 175 points. He is the first player in chase history to score a 150 from this batting position.
The highest eighth-wicket partnership in ODI history: The double-century partnership between Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins is the highest 8th wicket partnership in ODI history. With a 138-run partnership, the duo broke Justin Kemp and Andrew Hall’s 2006 mark against India.
Maxwell made history by being the first player in ODI history to record a double century while chasing. He also made the highest-ever score in a World Cup second innings. Maxwell became only the third player in World Cup history to score a double century.
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