“Gaya defending champions”- Fans react as apart from vintage Glenn Maxwell show, Afghan spinners dominate lackluster Aussie batters
Follow Us
Glenn Maxwell
This is a crucial match for Australia, but all they put on the scoreboard is a defendable total of 168/8 owing to Glenn Maxwell’s quickfire of an unbeaten 54 against Afghanistan on Friday [November 4] at the Adelaide Oval. The defending champions will be out of the tournament if they fail to win this match by a big margin.
Following a hamstring injury, Aussie skipper Aaron Finch opted out of the match, and instead, Matthew Wade is captaining the side. Afghan skipper Mohammad Nabi decided to field first after winning the toss.
David Warner showed some signs of return before he faltered against Naveen-ul-Haq in the sixth over. All he could contribute was 25 runs from 18 balls (with five fours). Before Warner, Fazalhaq Farooqi showed Cameron Green the way back to the pavilion in the third over.
However, Mitchell Marsh smacked three fours and two sixes to score 45 runs off 30 balls at a strike rate of 150 before Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed him in the 11th over. Rahman served a flighted one, which Marsh attempted to sweep but top-edged to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The ball almost slipped from his hand, but somehow he managed to hold it.
Steve Smith had a lackluster show, scoring four runs off four balls before Naveen-ul-Haq sent him in the sixth over. Marcus Stoinis contributed 25 runs from 21 balls (with two sixes). In the 16th over, he became a victim of Rashid Khan‘s flatter ball, which Stoinis wanted to whip through the off-side but the thick outside edge made Usman Ghani at the point take a comfortable catch.
Farooqi dismissed skipper Matthew Wade in the 18th over, Pat Cummins became the prey of Naveen in the 19th over, while Kane Richardson gave away his wicket following a run-out by Naveen in the same over.
Only Glenn Maxwell, whose blade remained quiet in the previous matches, smashed a half-century. He ended up scoring an unbeaten 54 runs from 32 balls, studded with six boundaries and two sixes at a strike rate of 168.75. His lone fight drove the Aussies to a defendable total of 168/8 in their 20 overs.
Check how Twitter reacted to Glenn Maxwell’s knock
ALSO READ | “I will marry a Zimbabwean guy”- Pakistani actress vows marrying a Zimbabwean guy if they beat India
ALSO READ | WATCH: KL Rahul’s game-changing direct hit ends Litton Das’ fearless knock
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4832 Articles Published)