Maxwell smashes match-defining double-ton as Australia outlast Afghanistan

Glenn Maxwell’s unbeaten 201 has dragged the Australians to an against-all-odds, three-wicket win over a plucky Afghanistan outfit in Wankhede overnight.

The 35-year-old put together one of the best white ball innings in the country’s history after coming to crease with the side at 4-for-49.

He went on to blast the first double-century in Australian ODI history off just 128 balls in an innings that included 21 fours and 10 sixes.

In the process, he became the first player in ODI history to hit 200-plus whilst chasing and joined Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill as the only players in ICC World Cup history to hit double-tons.

His unbeaten 202-run partnership with Pat Cummins – who notched 12 off 68 deliveries – was the highest partnership for the seventh wicket or lower in ODI history whilst his contribution of 88.61% of the partnership’s runs is the highest ever by a batter in a triple-figure stand.

The Afghans won the toss and elected to bat with opener Ibrahim Zadran’s unbeaten 126 bolstering their innings and boosting them to 5-for-291 off their 50 overs.

Rashid Khan added a much-needed unbeaten 35 off just 18 balls whilst Rahmat Shah (30 off 44) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (26 off 43) also contributed.

Australia’s innings got off to a horror start with Travis Head dismissed for a second-ball duck before Mitchell Marsh (24 off 11), David Warner (18 off 29), and Josh Inglis (golden duck) were all dismissed within the space of just 14 balls.

With the Australians sitting at 7-for-91 in the 19th over, they looked set for another World Cup boilover only for Maxwell to put together arguably the greatest innings in World Cup history.

The win secured Australia’s spot in the finals with their final clash of the group stage coming against Bangladesh on Saturday.