IN one of the most memorable knocks in the history of the sport, Glenn Maxwell has single-handedly delivered Australia to a three-wicket win over Afghanistan in Tuesday night’s ODI World Cup match.

The Aussies looked in serious trouble at 7/91 when chasing down Afghanistan’s total of 291, before Maxwell came to the crease with a record-breaking performance that was heard around the world. Although he could have been out a number of times, the all-rounder’s resolve never wavered, fighting through fatigue to produce just the second ODI double-century by an Australian.

Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat, hopeful the pitch would provide more turn in the second innings. The openers got their team off to a strong start, with Ibrahim Zadran (129no) in particular proving a handful for the Aussie quicks.

All seven Afghanistan players that faced a ball managed 12 or more runs, led by Zadran, who was simply outstanding with bat in hand. His performance put his team in an extremely strong position in the match, setting the total just under 300 and helping keep Afghanistan’s ODI World Cup campaign alive. That score was also boosted by Rashid Khan posting a rapid 35.

Aussie opener David Warner drove the first ball of the second innings away for four, but Australia’s luck ran out shortly after, with Travis Head dismissed for a second-ball duck. Mitch Marsh came out with an aggressive cameo, posting 24 off just 11 balls, but he and the remainder of Australia’s top order fell cheaply, and when Maxwell came to the crease, the Aussies were in trouble at 4/49.

Khan had a terrific few overs with ball in hand, putting the Aussies in even more trouble, needing 200 runs from the final three wickets after Mitch Starc chose not to review a caught-out decision that was shown on replay as being missed by his bat.

Maxwell was given the first of many reprieves early in the innings, with the cool cat using all nine of his lives over the course of his innings. He was dropped on 24 and 33, and successfully reviewed his lbw. dismissal to remain at the crease. Although Afghanistan came devastatingly close to dismissing the last recognised batsman in Australia’s lineup, those chances went begging, and Maxwell began to drag his side back into the match.

Maxwell began to cramp up as he edged closer to triple figures and by the time he surpassed his first hundred, which he barely celebrated given the context of the match at the time, needed treatment at the end of nearly over. It meant his footwork and ability to run between the wickets was extremely hindered. At the end of one over, he collapsed to the ground, a perfect display of the agony he was playing through, with Adam Zampa ready to come in to replace him.

This did not stop him from putting on arguably the most impressive knock in ODI history, using pure power, quick wrists and timing to remarkably conjure boundary after boundary and keep plugging away at the required total.

Maxwell smacked his ninth and tenth sixes of the match to bring up the double ton for himself and the win for Australia, who looked gone for all money when seven wickets down in what seemed like a lifetime ago.

His performance set a number of records, including highest individual score in an ODI run chase, highest individual score for an Australian player in Men’s ODI’s and first ODI double century by a non-opener, showcasing just how historic the performance was.

The win cemented a spot in the top four and semi finals for the Aussies, while Afghanistan face a tough challenge to book the last spot. Australia takes on Bangladesh in its final match before the semi’s on Saturday night.