Glenn Maxwell produced one of the most astonishing one-day innings of all time to rescue Australia from what appeared to be a certain defeat against Afghanistan and steer them home to victory by three wickets in Mumbai.
When Mitchell Starc was dismissed to reduce Australia to 91 for seven their cause seemed hopeless chasing the very competitive target of 292 set by Afghanistan. But Maxwell, helped by a dropped catch and careless fielding, went on a rampage to hit 201 not out from only 128 balls. He was ably assisted by his captain Pat Cummins, with whom he shared an unbeaten eighth wicket partnership worth 202.
After his epic innings, Maxwell said: “I feel shocking! It was obviously quite hot when I was fielding and haven’t done a lot of high-intensity fielding in the heat but it got hold of me today. Luckily. I was able to stick it out to the end.”
Australia had found themselves up against it to confirm a World Cup semi-final spot after Ibrahim Zadran’s unbeaten century helped Afghanistan post 291 for five. While a place in the knockout stage has appeared probable since the mid-point of the India-based tournament, Australia had the chance to lock it in once-and-for-all and cap their remarkable resurgence. But Afghanistan’s biggest total of the tournament put them in a strong position after Zadran (129 no off 143 balls) partnered with all-rounder Rashid Khan (35 no from 18 balls) late to race to a big score.
After losing the toss on Tuesday (AEDT), the Australians found wickets hard to come by on a deck that has been unkind to the bowlers so far this tournament. Maxwell picked up the important wicket of Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah during a good spell.
Spinner Adam Zampa (one for 58) could not reprise the trickery in the middle overs that has been vital to Australia’s five-game winning streak. But by the same token, World Cup over-achievers Afghanistan were initially reluctant to attack the game as they fought to keep their own semi-final hopes alive.
Save for during a cameo from Azmatullah Omarzai (22 runs off 18 balls), the Afghanistan innings was a conservative one until late as Zadran laid a platform. The 21-year-old became the first Afghan to record a World Cup century when he hit Josh Hazlewood to cover in the 44th over, though he was almost run out as he snuck his single in.
But Zadran knocked things up a notch after he brought his ton up, assisted by Khan in a 58-run partnership across the final four-and-half overs. The pair combined for eight boundaries in the final four overs as Australia rued an umpire review that determined Marcus Stoinis had not caught Rashid in the deep on 18 as he had hoped. Stoinis thought he had made a great catch to dismiss Rashid Khan but the TV umpire disagreed.
Returning from the concussion he suffered falling off a golf cart, Maxwell’s part-time spin (one for 55) was important and dispatched Rahmat Shah, who had built a steady 83-run partnership with Zadran. In the 12 overs after that wicket, Afghanistan hit only three boundaries and two of those came in the same Zampa over. Their run-rate teetered below five heading into the final 10 overs despite having seven wickets in hand and they did not hit a six until the 38th over.