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Australia advanced to the semifinals by defeating Afghanistan by three wickets, courtesy of a double century from Glenn Maxwell. Here is a recap of the second innings.
Afghanistan pacers put a dent in the Australian chase
The impact of Naveen-ul-Haq’s second over of the innings was immediate. Naveen’s second ball was enough to get Travis Head out. In the third over, David Warner smacked the first four of the innings. With an aggressive approach, Mitchell Marsh hit Azmatullah Omarzai for four and six consecutively in the fifth over. In the sixth over, Marsh hit two more fours and a six off Naveen’s bowling. With a final chuckle, Naveen fired Marsh using LBW. Marsh struck two fours and a six to score twenty-four runs in eleven balls. In the seventh over, Omarzai delivered a maiden over. In his next over, he took two wickets as payback. Josh Inglis and Warner were both ejected by Omarzai in quick succession.
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Afghanistan pick regular wickets
Glenn Maxwell and Marnus Labuschagne had a vital collaboration. Following the powerplay, Afghan bowlers let up just 17 runs in four overs. In the fifteenth over, Rashid Khan entered the attack and took a wicket. The Australian number four was caught short by Rahmat Shah’s direct hit at the keeper’s end, and Labuschagne was run out for being extremely slow to respond to a rapid single. In just 28 balls, Labuschagne scored 14 runs while hitting two fours. Maxwell struck two fours in the 16th over after taking an aggressive early stance. Marcus Stoinis was removed by Rashid in the next over. After reviewing the LBW call, Stoinis saw three reds, and Australia lost the review. As a result, he was fired. Rashid then dismissed Mitchell Starc in his following over. It was an unfortunate dismissal for Starc who was given out for caught behind. The replays showed the ball hitting the edge of the stumps but not making any contact with the bat.
Maxwell goes big against Afghan bowlers
Rashid beat Maxwell a few of times in the twenty-first over. In the 22nd over, Maxwell was almost dismissed twice by Noor Ahmad. The Australian all-rounder reviewed the decision to put Maxwell out LBW, claiming that the ball bounced over the stumps. Maxwell attempted a sweep shot on the sixth delivery of the same over, but he top-edged it to fine leg, where Mujeeb ur Rahman made a reasonably easy catch. Subsequently, Maxwell hit several boundaries in nearly every over. In 10 overs, Australia scored 70 runs (23–32). In just 76 balls, Maxwell reached his century in the 33rd over. After entering the attack in the 34th over, Mohammad Nabi was hit for two straight fours. In his next over, Maxwell clobbered Nabi for a four and a six.
In over 39, Rashid was hit for a six. Maxwell found it difficult to run between the wickets as he began to cramp. When Naveen bowled the 40th over, he was hit for two straight fours. Maxwell hit two more fours in the 42nd over to take the score to 150. After Maxwell hammered him for two fours and a six, Omarzai gave up 15 runs in his next over, continuing his expensive spell.