Maxwell *201: 'Maxwell carried the burden of Pakistan's hopes on one leg. It was also a part of nature's system.
Seven Australian players had returned to the pavilion and Kiwi commentator Ian Smith in the commentary box asked Matthew Hayden, who was sitting next to him, 'Are Australia going to lose this match to Afghanistan without a contest?'
Matthew Hayden laughed and replied, 'What did you say?' This must have been very offensive to a small population of Australia.'
Well, Australia and New Zealand are also traditional rivals, but saying this phrase to any Australian sports team would be an insult to it because the Australian team's philosophy of playing has always been 'never give up'. It is also a part of their sports culture.
Chasing a target of 292 runs, the Australian team was out for 91 runs in the 19th over.
In the second innings on this ground, the fast bowlers become very dangerous and the ball starts swinging in the lights and it happened today too and Naveen ul Haq and Azmatullah took two wickets each in the first ten overs to take the early lead. had received
A run-out and some fine bowling by Rashid Khan then reduced Australia to 91/7 and a historic victory for Afghanistan was just three wickets away.
Maxwell had managed to avoid a very close LBW due to DRS, but in the same over he played a sweep shot against spinner Noor Ahmed which seemed to go straight into the hands of Mujeebur Rahman standing at short fine leg. .
It was a very easy catch, but Mujeeb might have taken his eyes off the ball at the last moment and dropped a very easy catch. And perhaps Afghanistan's hopes of reaching the semi-finals as well.
What Maxwell did from then on will be remembered as one of the most brilliant innings in the history of ODI cricket.
This is also because Maxwell not only had to face Afghanistan's best spinners but also had to ensure that he took maximum strikes while batting with the Australian bowlers.
However, Maxwell had to face another problem shortly after.
In such a situation, Maxwell here adopted the style he is known for and started to show aggressive batting.
The timing as well as the power behind every stroke from his bat would be superb and he would even manage to take a single at the end of the over with ease. Amidst all this, Pat Cummins and the Afghan bowlers at the other end were forced to be silent spectators.
As Maxwell completed his century, his leg began to show signs of discomfort. Many times in the match the physio had to come to the field and give medicine to Maxwell but he did not retire hurt and remained on the field and like a genius batsman standing on only one leg and playing such shots that everyone was surprised to see. Done.
Taking all the responsibility on his shoulders, Maxwell continued to bat aggressively till the end and hit good balls over the boundary and finally managed to bring up a double century with his last six.
Considering this Afghan bowling line-up and such match situation and personal health, this innings of Maxwell will surely be considered as one of the best innings in ODI history.
Maxwell continued Australia's unbeaten run and scored a double century of 10 sixes and 24 fours to take Australia to the semi-finals.
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