(Image source from: Twitter.com/ICC)
Glenn Maxwell, the star batsman of Australia scored a double century against Afghanistan taking his team to the edge of the victory. Glenn Maxwell is the first batsman for the team to score a double century in World Cup. Shane Watson (185 not out) against Bangladesh in 2011 World Cup was the highest for any Australian batsman. Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored a remarkable 291 for the loss of five wickets in their 50 overs. The match took place in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Everyone felt that it would be an easy chase for the Australians.
The top order tumbled down badly and Australia were 91 for the loss of 7 wickets and there is a huge chase left. Then came Glen Maxwell and he scored 201 not out in just 128 balls. Australia completed the chase with 19 balls left. Mitchell Marsh (24) and David Warner (18) are the other top scorers. Rashid Khan (2/44), Naveen-ul-Haq (2/47) and Azmatullah Omarzai (2/52) took the wickets among the bowlers of Afghanistan. Before that, Ibrahim Zadran (129 not out), Rashid Khan (35 not out) and Rahmat Shah (30) were among the top scorers of Afghanistan batsmen which made them score a remarkable total. Josh Hazlewood (2/39), Glenn Maxwell (1/55) and Adam Zampa (1/58) managed to bag the wickets among Australian bowlers. Glenn Maxwell is awarded with the Man of the Match award.
With this victory, Australia is in the third place after India and South Africa in the points table. New Zealand and Pakistan are in the fourth and fifth places.
