Maxwell does it for Australia out of nowhere to stun Afghanistan and hand them a three wicket defeat. His unbeaten double ton couldn’t have come at a better time as he stitched an unbeaten 202 run partnership with Pat Cummins who supported him throughout the chase.
Maxwell does a fairytale chase
Australia seemed dead and buried at 91/7 by the 19th over. Everyone thought it was over and even the win predictor wasn’t giving them more than 1% chance of winning the game from there. But then courtesy to some poor fielding and catching lapses, Maxwell grew in confidence and started counter attacking every other bowler in a controlled and calculated way.
Gurbaz squanders away another start
Earlier choosing to bat first, Ibrahim and Gurbaz had a steady start. Just when it looked that they have weathered the early storm, Gurbaz threw his wicket in the same fashion that he has been doing in the recent past. A half tracker put into the safe hands of a deep square leg fielder who didn’t have to move a lot. It was clearly a lack of game awareness. Oppositions do set up Gurbaz to go for the pull shot by keeping a fielder deep.
Ibrahim stays composed in spite of losing Rahmat and Hashmat
Nevertheless Rahmat joined Ibrahim and both of them started grafting yet another partnership. They managed to negotiate the likes of Starc, Cummins, Maxwell and Zampa well by rotating the strike and taking the innings deep. But against the run of play, Rahmat got out to Glen in an attempt to hit him over the mid off for a boundary. Hashmat too tried to keep the scoreboard ticking with singles and occasional boundaries. Ibrahim slowed down a bit due to loss of partners from the other end. In order to push the tempo, Hashmat exposed his stumps to Starc ad got out to a brilliant yorker.
Omarzai brought much needed impetus through his cameo
Arrival of Azmat brought a fresh lease of impetus as he welcomed Starc with an exquisite six over long off. The partnership was flourishing at a brisk rate but Azmat got out to Zampa in order to hit him for another six over long off. The delivery was quite fuller due to which Omarzai couldn’t get the desired elevation. Nabi came and hit Hazelwood for a towering six over mid wicket but then lost his stumps when he tried to heave another slot ball for a six.
Ibrahim becomes the first Afghan to get a World Cup ton
Meanwhile Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghan batter to score a world cup hundred and the fifth of his ODI career. He reached this personal milestone in 131 deliveries. It was a treat to watch him bat as he held one end up and scored at a fair pace. Rashid joined Ibrahim after Nabi’s departure and straightaway put his foot on the accelerator. Ibrahim after completing his ton also flipped on to his top gear. Both of them accumulated 58 runs from the last 27 balls hitting boundaries and sixes at will.
Australia were almost dead and buried at 91/7
Aussies were given a competitive target of 292 on a tricky pitch that seamed a bit under the lights initially. Naveen and Azmat took good advantage of the conditions and dismissed the top order very cheaply. While Naveen got the better of Head and Marsh, Azmat rattled the stumps of Warner followed by inducing an edge from Inglis to Ibrahim at the first slip. Labuschagne was slow to react against a direct hit from Rahmat stationed at short mid-on. Stoinis looked clueless against Rashid and was out lbw trying to reverse flick him through the point. Starc was adjudged caught behind by the umpire when Ikram gobbled him in the third attempt off Rashid.
Doubtful DRS and catching lapses cost Afghanistan
Hashmat grassed a leading edge of Maxwell at mid-off which was a tough chance. Noor was brought into the attack and immediately began to trouble Maxwell. But fortune was beginning to turn it’s tide. At first Glen’s lbw was turned down by DRS which looked plumb through the naked eye. The ball had hit the knee roll of Max and the way it was projected over the wicket is something which is beyond any imagination. Couple of balls later Maxwell swiped one straight into the hands of fine leg where Mujeeb failed to grab a simple chance. This was not the first time that he has dropped a dolly at fine leg.
Miraculous double ton by Maxwell ends Afghan hopes
By then Maxwell might have sensed something special after getting so many lives. He then started to counter attack the bowlers in a calculated fashion. While Cummins blocked everything that came his way, it was raining sixes and fours from the other end. With the help of 21 fours and 10 sixes Maxwell completed his double ton and took Australia to an unimaginable victory. Glen was most severe on Mujeeb who gave him the privilege to stay at the wicket. Mujeeb conceded 72 off his 8.5 and went wicketless.
Boys live to fight another day
This loss is surely going to haunt the team and fans for a very long time. A game which looked done and dusted for the Aussies turned into a miraculous victory for the men in yellow. However looking back at what Afghanistan has achieved in this world cup is surely a thing to be proud of. Without looking at the consequences of other matches, Afghanistan would ideally like to go full throttle against South Africa one more time to close the league stage on a high.