Glenn Maxwell hit a record-breaking double-century as Australia fought back to beat Afghanistan by three wickets in a remarkable contest in Mumbai and seal a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
The three-time champions, targeting 292 for victory, slumped to 91 for seven before turning things around thanks to Maxwell’s breathtaking unbeaten 201, which came off 128 balls and included 21 fours and 10 sixes.
It was with the last of those sixes that the 35-year-old all-rounder – who battled on despite appearing in some pain – wrapped up the win with 19 deliveries to go.
It was the highest-ever score by an Australian in a one-day international, as the team achieved the highest successful ODI run chase there had ever been at the Wankhede Stadium.
The ground had seen history made earlier with Afghanistan recording their maiden World Cup century, Ibrahim Zadran posting an unbeaten 12.
Their total of 291 for five also featured contributions of 35 not out from Rashid Khan and 30 from Rahmat Shah as Afghanistan sought to beat Australia for the first time at the fourth attempt in this format.
Australia’s reply started badly with Travis Head being dismissed for a duck by Naveen-ul-Haq with only four runs on the board.
And the wickets continued to go as Pat Cummins’ men stumbled to 49 for four after Azmatullah Omarzai took the scalps of David Warner and Josh Inglis in consecutive balls.
When Mitchell Starc was ousted – despite questions over whether the ball had hit his bat – via a superb catch from wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil to leave Australia at 91 for seven in the 19th over, Afghanistan looked to be closing in on a famous victory.
But Maxwell then took centre stage with a stunning display to push Australia to victory.
Having been dropped and survived an lbw appeal on review, he went on to register boundary after boundary, even though at times he looked to be in considerable discomfort and struggling to run.
Able to continue after receiving treatment on the field, he subsequently completed his double-century – and Australia’s win – in fitting fashion by crashing yet another maximum that took his partnership with Cummins (12) to 202.
Third-placed Australia advance into the last four, joining India and South Africa, ahead of finishing their group matches by playing Bangladesh in Pune on Saturday.
Afghanistan remain sixth, with one of them, New Zealand and Pakistan set to make the semi-finals – they face South Africa in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Sri Lanka Women to host West Indies for three ODIs and three T20Is next month
Sri Lanka will host West Indies for three ODIs and three T20Is from June 15-28, Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Thursday.
The tour will primarily serve as preparation for the T20 Asia Cup, which will also take place in Sri Lanka, for the hosts. That tournament starts on July 20.
As for the West Indies, they just concluded a month-long tour of Pakistan where they dominated both ODI and T20I series.
This will be the regional side’s last competitive action before the ICC Women's T20 World Cup set for October 3-20 in Bangladesh.
The last time these two sides squared off in a bilateral series was back in 2017, where West Indies swept Sri Lanka across both T20Is and ODIs.
The West Indians have dominated Sri Lanka in T20Is with a head-to-head record of 18-4 whereas in ODIs, the contest has been much closer with West Indies leading 18-14.
The ODI series will be played from June 15-21 in Galle and is part of the ICC Women's Championship, which serves as a pathway to the 2025 ODI World Cup.
West Indies are currently seventh on the Women's Championship points table and Sri Lanka eighth. Top four teams, apart from hosts India, will get a direct qualification.
The T20Is will be held in Hambantota from June 24-28.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Warm-Up matches confirmed
The official warm-up match fixtures for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 have been announced. Matches are scheduled to be played from Monday 27 May to Saturday 1 June across the USA and at two venues in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies.
The venues to host the 16 warm up matches are the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas; Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida and Queen’s Park Oval and Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago.
Warm-up fixtures will be 20 overs per side and will not carry international T20 status as teams will be allowed to field all members of their 15-player squad. In a change from the previous rights cycle, teams will now have the option of playing up to two warm-up matches depending on arrival time at the event.
The West Indies against Australia fixture at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday 30 May will be open to fans, tickets will be available at tickets.t20worldcup.com or box offices located at the National Cricket Centre and Queen’s Park Oval from 16 May.
Warm-up match schedule:
Monday 27 May
Canada v Nepal, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 10h30
Oman v Papua New Guinea, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 15h00
Namibia v Uganda, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 19h00
Tuesday 28 May
Sri Lanka v Netherlands, Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida 10h30
Bangladesh v USA, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 10h30
Australia v Namibia, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 19h00
Wednesday 29 May
South Africa intra-squad, Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida 10h30
Afghanistan v Oman, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 13h00
Thursday 30 May
Nepal v USA, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 10h30
Scotland v Uganda, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 10h30
Netherlands v Canada, Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Grand Prairie, Texas 15h00
Namibia v Papua New Guinea, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago 15h00
West Indies v Australia, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 19h00
Friday 31 May
Ireland v Sri Lanka, Broward County Stadium, Broward County, Florida 10h30
Scotland v Afghanistan, Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago 10h30
Saturday 1 June
Bangladesh v India, Venue TBC USA
IPL: Washout confirms SRH play-off place
Sunrisers Hyderabad are into the Indian Premier League play-offs despite their game against Gujarat Titans being abandoned without even doing the toss due to rain.
SRH move onto 15 points, with one game remaining, but are now ensured a top-four finish for the first time since 2020.
Their top-two hopes have taken a hit though – they have to beat Punjab Kings in their final game and hope Rajasthan Royals lose to Kolkata Knights Riders to finish second.
The Titans were already out of play-off contention after their previous game against KKR was also called off due to a heavy storm without hitting a ball. They finish their season currently third from bottom, though that could change depending on results in the final few matches.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
