Maxwell smashes 201 to rescue Australia and floor Afghanistan

Glenn Maxwell produced one of the most astonishing one-day innings of all time to rescue Australia from what appeared to be certain defeat against Afghanistan and steer them to victory by three wickets in Mumbai.

When Mitchell Starc was dismissed to reduce Australia to 91 for seven their cause seemed hopeless chasing a target of 292. But Maxwell, helped by a dropped catch and careless fielding, went on a rampage to hit 201 not out from only 128 balls – including 10 sixes – on his return from a freak golfing accident that left him concussed last week.

He was ably assisted by his captain, Pat Cummins, with whom he shared an unbeaten eighth-wicket partnership worth 202. They now face South Africa in the semi-finals next week.

Maxwell survived a simple dropped catch and successfully overturned an umpire’s call of lbw in the 22nd over but seemed to take the pair of near misses as a sign to throw caution to the wind. “I was very lucky and I suppose made the most of that,” he said. “[The lbw review] was probably the Kickstarter I needed to tell myself: ‘I need to start playing some shots and be a bit more proactive.’”