AUS Vs AFG, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Incredible Numbers Behind Glenn Maxwell's Epic Knock, Australia's Win Over Afghanistan - Statistical Highlights

Glenn Maxwell produced arguably one of the greatest knocks in the history of limited-overs cricket to help Australia beat Afghanistan in their penultimate league match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. The three-wicket win ensured that Australia, the five-time champions, became the third team after India and South Africa to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament. (As It Happened | Scores | Photos)

Opting to bat, opener Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghanistan batter to score a World Cup hundred. The opener carried his bat through the innings (129 not out off 143 balls) as Afghanistan posted a very good total of 291 for five. The gaintkillers, who had earlier defeated England, lost opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a 25-ball 21 but Zadran and Rahmat Shah added 83 runs for the second wicket before the latter was dismissed by Maxwell for a 44-ball 30 in the 25th over. But Zadran continued to accumulate runs at a decent rate to prop up his team against the tournament's most successful side. Rashid Khan smashed an unbeaten 35 off 18 balls towards the end.

In reply, Australia were rocked by Afghan pacers. In the 19th over, the score read 91 for seven. That's when Maxwell decided to take charge and led an incredible comeback while adding 202 runs for the eighth wicket with skipper Pat Cummins (12 not out). In all, Maxwell, who was battling pain and exhaustion, hit 21 boundaries and 10 sixes. With that, here's a look at all the key stats and figures from the Australia vs Afghanistan game in Mumbai:

- Ibrahim Zadran scored 129 not out in this game to provide the 226th occasion of a batter scoring a century in an innings in the World Cup. It also provided the first occasion of an Afghanistan batter scoring a century in the World Cup. This was the 117th occasion of an opening batter scoring a century in the World Cup.

- Ibrahim Zadran’s knock provided the 17th occasion of an opening batter’s century in an innings in the World Cup going in vain. It provided the 48th occasion of a century in the World Cup going in vain.

- Glenn Maxwell scored 201 not out in this game to provide the 227th occasion of a batter scoring a century in an innings in the World Cup. It also provided the 37th occasion of an Australian batter scoring a century in the World Cup.

- Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan scored 129 not out and Glenn Maxwell scored 201 not out in this game to provide the 19th occasion of rival batters scoring centuries in a match in the World Cup. This was, however, the first occasion of one scoring a century and another a double century in a World Cup match. 

- Glenn Maxwell became the third batter to score 200-plus runs in the World Cup, after New Zealand's Martin Guptill (237 not out vs West Indies in Wellington on March 21, 2015) and Chris Gayle (215 vs Zimbabwe in Canberra on February 24, 2015).

- Glenn Maxwell became the 11th batter to score 200-plus runs in One-Day Internationals. The following table lists them: 

- Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out in this game became the highest individual score on the following occasions

1. By a batter batting at number six in the World Cup. The previous best was Kapil Dev’s 175 not out against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells, Kent on 18.06.83.

2.  By an Australian batter batting at number six in the World Cup. The previous best was Andrew Symonds' 143 not out against Pakistan in Johannesburg on 11.02.03.

3. By an Australian batter in ODIs. The previous best was Shane Watson’s 185 not out against Bangladesh in Mirpur on 11.04.11.

4. By an Australian batter in the World Cup. The previous best was David Warner’s 178 against Afghanistan in Perth on 04.03.14.

5. By an Australian batter batting at number six in the World Cup. The previous best was Andrew Symonds' 143 not out against Pakistan in Johannesburg on 11.02.03.

6. By an Australian batter in ODIs batting at number six. The previous best was Andrew Symonds' 143 not out against Pakistan in Johannesburg on 11.02.03.

- Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out came in 128 deliveries which fetched him a record for scoring a double hundred in the least number of deliveries faced in the World Cup. The previous record was credited to Chris Gayle who had scored 215 in 147 deliveries in the World Cup game between West Indies and Zimbabwe in Canberra on 24.02.15.

- Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out came in 181 minutes which fetched him a record for scoring a double hundred in the least number of minutes in the World Cup. The previous record was credited to Chris Gayle who had scored 215 in 212 minutes in the World Cup game between West Indies and Zimbabwe in Canberra on 24.02.15.

- Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out contained 21 boundary fours. He became the fourth batter to hit 20-plus boundary fours in an innings in the World Cup, after New Zealand's Martin Guptill (237 not out, 24 fours against West Indies in Wellington on March 21, 2015), Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan (161 not out, 22 fours against Bangladesh in Melbourne on February 26, 2015) and New Zealand's Stephen Fleming (134 not out, 21 fours against South Africa in Johannesburg on February 16, 2003). Maxwell became the second batter to hit 20-plus boundary fours in the World Cup while scoring a double hundred.

- Glenn Maxwell became the second batter to score 20-plus boundary fours and 10-plus boundary sixes in an innings in the World Cup while scoring a double hundred or otherwise, after Martin Guptill who hit 24 fours and 11 sixes in 2015. Maxwell also became the fourth batter to score 10-plus boundary sixes in an ODI match. 

- Glenn Maxwell became the third batter to score 20-plus boundary fours and 10-plus boundary sixes in an innings in an ODI match while scoring a double hundred or otherwise. 

- Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins added 202 runs in an unbroken partnership for the eighth wicket in this game to provide the 23rd occasion of batters posting a 200-plus run stand in an innings in the World Cup. It also provided the sixth occasion of Australian batters posting a 200-plus runs partnership in an innings in the World Cup.

- Their unbroken stand in this game provided the record partnership for the eighth wicket in ODISs. The previous best was the 138-run unbroken stand between Andrew Hall and Justin Kemp of South Africa against India in Cape Town on 26.11.2006. In the World Cup, the previous best was the 117-run stand between David Houghton and Iain Butchart of Zimbabwe against New Zealand in Hyderabad (India) on 10.10.1987.

- Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out is now the highest score by a batter while batting second and winning an ODI match. The previous best was Shane Watson’s 185 not out against Bangladesh in Mirpur on 11.04.11. It's also the highest score while batting second and winning a World Cup game. The previous best was Devon Conway’s 152 not out in the match between New Zealand and England in Ahmadabad on 05.10.23.

- Maxwell’s knock represents the highest score by a batter while batting second in an ODI match. The previous best was Fakhar Zaman’s 193 in the match between Pakistan and South Africa in Johannesburg. Maxwell now holds the record for the highest score while batting second in a World Cup game. The previous best was Andrew Strauss’ 158 in the match between England and India in Bengaluru on 27.02.2011.

- Australia thus recorded highest successful chase in the World Cup. Their previous highest successful run chase was 287 against New Zealand in the quarter-final of the 1996 tournament.

Stats courtesy: HR Gopala Krishna – Veteran cricket statistician