It was building up as a crucial partnership. Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran and top-order batter Rahmat Shah had added 83 runs for the second wicket in Delhi at the 2023 ODI World Cup on Tuesday. The duo had given their team a steady platform in the middle overs and were looking to kick on from there. But Australia part-time off-spinner Glenn Maxwell had other plans. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard | Key Battles)
Maxwell bowled a flighted delivery outside off stump, which lured Rahmat to go inside out over covers on the off side. He had hit a boundary in similar fashion against the same bowler earlier. But the lofted shot went wrong the second time as the ball went straight to long off, and Maxwell had the last laugh. You can watch the video below.
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In the video, Maxwell can be seen mouthing something presumably along the lines of "Not another time" to Rahmat, implying that he wouldn't let the batter score a boundary in the same way again. Indeed, with the long-off back this time, it was a tough task to clear the boundary, and the placement didn't help Rahmat's cause either.
Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first at the Wankhede. The match assumes significance as a win for either Australia or Afghanistan will boost their semi-final hopes significantly. Australia are third in the table on ten points, two ahead of the chasing pack of New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Afghanistan are ranked the worst of the three chasers due to their net run rate, but can leapfrog their counterparts with a win over the mighty Australia.
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Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
