In the cauldron of the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday night, an Australian fan was wearing a shirt with Don Bradman’s name written on it. He didn’t look old enough to have watched Bradman play. In fact, it’s almost certain that no one inside the stadium would have witnessed Bradman’s magic. But somewhere up there in cricket heaven, Bradman himself would have applauded Glenn Maxwell’s genius gene as he powered Australia to a believe-it-or-not three-wicket win over Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup. Having seen his side slump to 91-7, Maxwell smashed 201 not out off 128 deliveries. With the victory, Australia also qualified for the semi-finals, where they will take on South Africa.
At one point of time, Australia were tottering. Maxwell didn’t just prop them up. He stitched together a mind-boggling 202-run partnership with Pat Cummins, his captain. Cummins’ contribution was a prosaic 12 runs off 68 deliveries. To make it even better, Maxwell played such an awe-inspiring knock despite being continuously troubled by back spasms and a cramp. It was one of those days where adjectives weren’t enough to describe what happened.
The second half of the second innings had so much action that it is difficult to recall every incident. Perhaps, we should start with the LBW decision Maxwell reviewed and got reversed in the 22nd over. In the same over bowled by Noor Ahmed, Mujeeb Ur Rahman dropped a sitter off Maxwell at short fine-leg. Hashmatullah Shahidi also fluffed a chance, with Maxwell once again being the batter. In the final analysis, those two grassed chances turned out to be the turning point.
Maxwell then decided to go for the jugular. The boundary rope didn’t seem to matter as he kept clearing it. When The Big Show as he’s called – a nickname he loathes – didn’t clear the rope, he bisected the gaps with needlepoint precision by using thumping drives. He also used the depth of the crease to play some eye-catching cuts against the spinners.
When Australia had 200 on the board, Cummins was on just 10. By then, Maxwell had started to hobble around. The physio came out on several occasions, but every single time Maxwell got up and was ready to go. At one stage, it looked like he would have to retire hurt. Adam Zampa had almost made his way to the field, but Maxwell once again stood up after taking a bit of treatment from the physio and refreshments. And he was at it again.
By then, Maxwell’s batting was virtually down to moving his preternatural hands. He swatted Azmatullah Omarzai with a reverse-hit and also hoicked him across the line. There was an inside edge that scurried away to the fence. Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan skipper, seemed amused by what he was witnessing. There seemed to be a few tears in Jonathan Trott’s eyes in the dug-out. Afghanistan’s hopes of qualifying for the last four were slipping away fast.
In the 47th over, that glimmer of hope had all but vanished into thin air. Maxwell clubbed three sixes and a four off Mujeeb to provide the finishing touches. Putting agony to one side, Maxwell punched the air in ecstasy as he pulled off one of the greatest heists in sporting history. Perhaps Afghanistan’s seamers missed a trick by not bowling a few more deliveries on a shorter length and just outside off, especially considering that Maxwell was struggling with his mobility.
For large parts of the match, it didn’t seem like Australia were going to win. Ibrahim Zadran looked set to be Afghanistan’s hero after he composed a 143-ball 129. He carried his bat through the innings, and stitched crucial stands with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shahidi and Rahmat Shah. There was also a vital undefeated partnership of 58 off just 27 deliveries with Rashid Khan, which gave Afghanistan the momentum going into the second innings.
The duo clubbed a slew of fours and sixes in the last two overs, exemplified by the fact that they scored 29 runs off the last nine deliveries. Afghanistan’s total of 291 seemed challenging. And it looked like a mountain to climb when Omarzai and Naveen-ul-Haq found movement with the new ball to leave Australia reeling at 49 for 4. It was not the first time this year that we had seen the Wankhede offering movement in the second innings under lights.
Rashid then took over by picking up a couple wickets. Rahmat also played his part by effecting a direct hit to run out Marnus Labuschagne. When the seventh wicket fell, from Kabul to Kandahar, and Kunduz to Ghazni, TV sets, radios and any other means of communication would have been switched on. They would have anticipated Afghanistan doing something historic – adding Australia to the list of former World Cup winners that they had tamed in this tournament.
Alas! Maxwell had other ideas. It was a case of so near, yet so far for Afghanistan, courtesy one man. Afghanistan’s gallant effort would now be a footnote. Maxwell rewrote the chapter with his batting fireworks by playing one of the greatest knocks in the history of ODI cricket, alongside perhaps Viv Richards’ 189 not out and Kapil Dev’s 175 not out.