Australia’s Glenn Maxwell produced a stunning unbeaten 201 to guide his team to a thrilling three-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, securing a semi-final berth for the Aussies. Chasing 292 for victory, Australia found themselves in dire straits at 91 for 7, with Afghanistan seemingly on course for a fourth consecutive win in the tournament. However, Maxwell had other plans.
The Australian all-rounder took the Afghan bowlers to the cleaners, smashing 21 fours and 10 sixes in his match-winning knock. He was dropped twice, by Hasmathullah Shahidi and Mujeeb ur Rahman, and survived a leg-before appeal, but capitalized on these reprieves to produce one of the greatest innings ever seen in a World Cup run-chase.
Maxwell’s knock not only took the game away from Afghanistan but also extinguished their hopes of reaching the semi-finals. Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott rued the missed opportunities, admitting that the dropped catches had a significant impact on the team’s morale.
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“Unfortunately, the second catch went down, everyone just seemed to sort of think – just waiting for him, you know, Maxwell to get out. I didn’t see a lot of encouragement or people cheering up each other and encouraging each other. It seemed to sort of like the attitude was a little bit, well, we’ll just, hopefully, we’ll still win type thing,” Jonathon Trott said after the match.
Trott emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities against a team like Australia.
“It’s not a case of when you get an opportunity against a side like Australia, you’ve got to grab it. They’re not going to just give it to you. And you’ve got to take it. If you get a chance to take it, you’ve got to take it. And that’s the type of things we’ll learn from today and what we just spoke about in the dressing room,” he added.
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Australia’s victory was a testament to their fighting spirit and their ability to come back from difficult situations. Maxwell’s knock will be etched in the memories of cricket fans for years to come, and it will serve as a reminder that in cricket, even the most improbable victories are possible.
