Arjun Shahi, Kathmandu
Tuesday, 21 October
With the help of Glenn Maxwell’s record-breaking double century, Australia defeated Afghanistan and qualified for the semi-finals of the ICC ODI World Cup. On Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Maxwell scored 201 runs and gave Australia a thrilling 3-wicket victory. Afghanistan had previously defeated former world champions teams like Sri Lanka, England, and Pakistan. A team that once put five-time World Cup champions Australia under pressure bowed to Maxwell alone. Australia lost 7 wickets for 91 runs and Maxwell took them to the target of 292 presented by Afghanistan. Maxwell, who stayed on the field despite being injured, hit 21 fours and 10 sixes in 128 balls. This is the highest individual score by any batsman in this World Cup and also the highest score by any player for Australia in the World Cup. Maxwell in this world cup he won the World cup. He also made the record for the fastest century. Captain Pat Cummins supported Maxwell till the end by scoring 12 runs. He faced 68 balls for this. Earlier, Mitchell Marsh scored 24 runs, David Warner scored 18 runs and Marnus Labussen scored 14 runs. This is also the biggest score chased by Australia in the World Cup. For Afghanistan, Naveen Ul Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Rashid Khan took 2 wickets each but could not stop Maxwell. Australia has collected 12 points after 8 games. On the other hand, Afghanistan, which strengthened its claim in the semi-finals by defeating Australia, has received a big shock. Afghanistan has 8 points after 8 games. According to the net run rate, the team is in the sixth position. Earlier, Afghanistan scored 291 runs for the loss of five wickets. Opener Ibrahim Zadran scored a century and played an unbeaten innings of 129 runs. Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz tried to get off to a brisk start and was dismissed for 21 off 25 balls. After that, the Afghanistan batsmen kept coming one after the other but Zadran remained steadfast from the other end. mercyShah scored 30 runs in 44 balls, Hasmatullah Shahidi scored 26 runs in 43 balls, Azmat Ullah Umarzai scored 22 runs in 18 balls. Rashid Khan played an aggressive shift in the last over. Khan scored 35 off 18 balls.