The crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai witnessed the record books being shattered as Glenn Maxwell took Australia to the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 with his mind-boggling innings on Tuesday, November 07. The 35-year-old played one of the greatest knocks ever in ODI history, scoring 201* (128) as he helped his side chase down 292 in 46.5 overs and defeat Afghanistan by three wickets.
Australia’s chase got off the worst possible as start as they were left reeling at 87/6 after 16.4 overs with Travis Head (0 off 2), David Warner (18 off 29), Mitchell Marsh (24 off 11), Marnus Labuschagne (14 off 28), Josh Inglis (0 off 1) back in the hut cheaply.
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However, Glenn Maxwell was in no mood to surrender as he used the chances given by Afghanistan to play a sensational innings and added an unbeaten 202 runs for the eighth wicket with Pat Cummins (12* off 68). As a result, Australia won the match by three wickets and qualified for the semi-final.
Earlier in the day, after opting to bat first, Afghanistan got off to a decent start as openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (21 off 25) and Ibrahim Zadran added 38 runs for the first wicket off 48 balls. Gurbaz was dismissed by Hazlewood as he hit one straight to Mitchell Starc at deep square leg. After losing his partner, Ibrahim Zadran continued to hold one end and took the innings forward.
Ibrahim Zadran became first batter to score hundred for Afghanistan in ODI WC
At the other end, Rahmat Shah (30 off 44), Hashmatullah Shahidi (26 off 43) and Mohammad Nabi (12 off 10) failed to convert their starts as Australia kept on chipping away with the wickets. However, Zadran went on to etch his name in history books as he became the first centurion in the history of the ODI World Cup for his nation.
He went on to score an unbeaten 129* (143) smashing eight fours and three sixes in his innings. Zadran was well-supported by Rashid Khan (35* off 18) as the duo propelled Afghanistan’s total to 291/5 in their allotted 50 overs.
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Meanwhile, X was abuzz with reactions on Australia’s incredible innings. Here are some of the posts:
Some match winning innings are such that you just stand up and applaud. An inning to remember for lifetime by Maxwell 👏 👏 #AUSvAFG pic.twitter.com/zoCQeztbBE
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 7, 2023
It was an honor witnessing this mental & physical genius of @Gmaxi_32 .
Its one of all time great ODI innings. #AUSvsAFG
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) November 7, 2023
That’s a remarkable innings @Gmaxi_32 😧👏🏾
— Tymal Mills (@tmills15) November 7, 2023
THE.GREATEST.INNINGS.EVER. #AUSvsAFG #Maxwell phewwwww….
— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) November 7, 2023
Got to be one of the greatest ODI innings ever ….#Maxwell 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) November 7, 2023
Massive Massive Massive respect for Maxii. 🫡🙇♂️ Absolutely unbelievable. @Gmaxi_32 💚!!! #ICCMensCricketWorldCup2023 #ICCCricketWorldCup2023 #AUSvAFG
— Sandeep Lamichhane (@Sandeep25) November 7, 2023
Saw this coming. 200 in a run-chase, One of the all time great one day innings by Maxwell. @Gmaxi_32 was a man possessed and
great support by @patcummins30 . An innings to remember for a long long time . #AUSvsAFG https://t.co/ClOM3NdSJf pic.twitter.com/nQ8uNVh1af
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) November 7, 2023
What a show @Gmaxi_32
🔥🔥🔥
— Abdul Samad (@RealAbsamad) November 7, 2023
This was a Big show 👌 Take a bow @Gmaxi_32 #CWC23
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) November 7, 2023
Maxwell 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Never seen something like this before . Unreal . Congratulations @CricketAus #AUSvAFG
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) November 7, 2023
Last night we saw an event that’s never happened before in 146 years! Tonight this!
Maxwell!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 7, 2023