Glenn Maxwell’s double century without being out helps Australia win a very crucial match against Afghanistan. Australia won by 3 wickets with 19 balls left in the match. This match was very important for Australia, which helped them secure their semifinal position in the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Australia currently holds the 3rd position in the point table of the 2023 World Cup. Australia’s opening in this World Cup was not great. They lost their first two matches in this World Cup, but after that, their luck and performances turned around and helped them win the rest of the matches. Currently, their total points are 14, with 7 wins and 2 losses.
On November 7 at Wankhede Stadium, a match was held between Australia and Afghanistan. The stadium was filled with fans from both sides. Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first. They played really well in this match, both in batting and bowling, but unfortunately, they lost the match against Australia. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran stared at their opening for Afghanistan. Gurbaz scored 21 runs with 25 balls but got out by Josh Hazlewood. Mitchell Starc was the one who got the catch.
Ibrahim Zardan was the one whose excellent performance made Afghanistan take 291 runs in 50 overs. No one could make him out in this match, which resulted in him scoring 129 runs in just 143 balls. He had 3 fours and 8 sixes in this match. Rahmat Shah scored 30 runs in 44 balls and got out by Glenn Maxwell. After him, Hashmatullah Shahidi came and scored 26 runs on 43 balls. Mitchell Starc got him out in this match. Azmatullah Omarzai scored 22 runs in 18 balls and got out by Adam Zampa. Mohammad Nabi only scored 12 runs and was thrown out by Josh Hazlewood. Rashid Khan played well and scored 35 runs in just 18 balls. He hit three fours and two sixes without getting out. With the loss of five wickets in 50 overs, Afghanistan scored 291 runs.
Josh Hazlewood took 2 wickets in this match, giving 39 runs in 9 overs. Mitchell Starc took one wicket by giving up 70 runs in nine overs. Glenn Maxwell took one wicket by giving up 55 runs in 10 overs. Adam Zampa took one wicket by giving up 55 runs in 10 overs.
Australia’s opening was very bad and did not perform very well. All the wickets are fallen one by one. David Warner only scored 18 runs and was thrown out by Azmatullah Omarzai. Travis Head got out by Naveen-ul-Haq without scoring any runs. Afghanistan’s bowlers just smashed Australia from the beginning. At this moment, everyone thought that Afghanistan would easily win this match when Australia lost seven of their wickets, only scoring 91 runs.
Mitchell Marsh scored 24 runs and got out by Naveen; Marnus Labuschagne scored 14 runs and got run out by Rahmat Shah; Marcus Stoinis got but by Rashid Khan only scoring 6 runs. Mitchel Starc got out by Rashid Khan, only scoring 3 runs. Josh Inglis got out by Azmatullah without scoring any runs.
After that, with the great partnership of Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins, Australia overcame and won the match. Pat Cummins was the one who helped Maxwell through the match. He scored 12 runs in 68 balls with just one four without losing his wickets. Glenn Maxwell scored 201 runs in just 128 balls with 21 fours and 10 sixes without losing his wickets. This was one of the great matches for Australia and Glenn Maxwell.
In this match, Maxwell got hurt in his legs several times after getting his first century, but the spirit was not over. He still played in the field, and his double century helped Australia win this crucial match. Without him and Pat Cummins, Australia would never have won this match. At the end of 46.5 overs, Australia won the match by 3 wickets and made 293 runs, losing 7 wickets. Afghanistan did not get any wickets after 7 wickets. It was a very bad day for Afghanistan. Though they played very well, they did not win the match.
Afghanistan bowler Naveen-ul-Haq got 2 wickets, giving 47 runs in 9 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai got 2 wickets, giving 52 runs in 7 overs. Rashid Khan got 2 wickets by giving 44 runs in 10 overs.
Scores:
Afghanistan: 291/5 (50)
Australia: 293/7 (46.5)
Australia won by 3 wickets with 19 balls left in the match against Afghanistan.