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PremiumAustralia vs Afghanistan Highlights: AUS vs AFG, Chasing a target of 292 runs, Australia lost seven wickets in quick succession, but Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten and unbelievable double century led Australia defeat Afghanistan by 3 wickets in the ongoing ICC World Cup match at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on 7 November.
Batting second, the five-time world champions lost wickets of Travis Head (0), Davis Warner(18), Mitchell Marsh (24), Marnus Labuschagne (14), Josh Inglis (0), Marcus Stoinis (6) and Mitchell Starc (3) to Afghanistan bowlers in quick succession.
But Glenn Maxwell (201*) held his ground well and kept maintaining the run-rate by hitting boundaries and SIXES, despite facing issues with leg sprain. He even scored a double century in just 128 balls (twenty one 4s and ten 6s) and became the first Australian to do so in an ODI.
Supporting him on the other side was skipper Pat Cummins, who remained unbeaten, scoring just 12 runs in 68 balls, but didn't let any more wickets to go in Afghanistan's hands.
In the 47th over, Maxwell decided to finish of the game, as Australia needed 21 runs from 4 overs. Maxwell hit consecutive HUGE SIXes on the second and third deliveries. Following this, he has sent the fourth ball for FOUR and again sends the ball for a SIX. This not only led to Australia's win, but Maxwell too hit his double century.
For Afghanistan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan picked two wickets each.
Glenn Maxwell also became the 'Player of the Match'.
With this win, Australia now have 12 points in 8 matches, with a Net Run-Rate of (+)0.398 and are seated at the third position behind India and South Africa.
While, Afghanistan slipped to 6th position with 8 points and a NRR of (-)0.338.
Earlier, Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghanistan batter to score a World Cup hundred and guided his team to 291 for five against Australia. Zadran carried his bat through the innings and finished on 129 not out off 143 balls.
The 21-year-old opener faced 131 balls, including seven fours, for what was his fifth one-day international century in 27 games.
He got to the landmark with a dicey single off fast bowler Josh Hazlewood that turned into two after a throw at the stumps was off target.
The fast bowling pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood started the proceedings for Aussies.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, Afghanistan lost opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a 25-ball 21 but Zadran and Rahmat Shah stitched 83 runs for the second wicket to lay a good foundation before the latter was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell for a 44-ball 30 in the 25th over with the score reading 121.
The Aussies have made a great comeback in the tournament after being crushed by India and South Africa in their opening two ICC World Cup 2023 matches.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, have had a dream run at this year's Cricket World Cup and currently sit 6th on the ICC World Cup points table with 8 points from their 7 matches so far.
Australia are third in the standings with 10 points from seven games. The five-time champions need one win to confirm its last-four spot from its remaining games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh on Nov. 11.
Afghanistan is sixth in the table with four wins from seven games. Its eight points have come from stunning wins over England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Netherlands. It needs to win both its remaining games against Australia and South Africa on Nov. 10 to be assured a place in the semifinals.
Australia and Afghanistan Playing XI today:
Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil(w), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
Australia vs Afghanistan: Head-to-head records
These two have played 3 ODIs against each other so far. All the matches went in favour of the Aussies. The last time these two faced off was in June 2019 (World Cup), when Australia won by 7 wickets.
Australia have played against Afghanistan in 2 matches in World Cups so far and won both. In 2015, Australia beat Afghanistan by 275 runs. The Afghans know that they have a completely-different squad now and are quite capable of giving Australia a run for their money.
Australia vs Afghanistan: Highlights
2.Josh Hazlewood takes the catch and Rahmat Shah departs off the bowling of Maxwell.
3. Mitchell Starc strikes as they get Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi clean bowled by a beautiful yorker.
4. Azmatullah Omarzai, big hitting eventually became his undoing as the batter was caught at long-off off the bowling of Adam Zampa in the 43rd over.
5.Cameos from Mohammed Nabi (12 from 10) and Rashid Khan (35* from 18) helped Afghanistan finish strong.
Australia batting:
