MUMBAI (AFP): Australia’s Glenn Maxwell smashed a match-winning 201 not out in a knock for the ages against Afghanistan in a World Cup thriller that took the five-time champions into the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Maxwell picked up the pieces from 91-7 in Australia’s victory target of 292, putting on an unbeaten stand of 202 for the eighth wicket with skipper Pat Cummins, who made 12, to achieve victory with 19 balls to spare.
AFP Sport takes a look at three other memorable knocks that changed the course of an ODI.
– Kapil Dev: 175 (June 18, 1983) –
Remembered as one of the best ODI innings of all time, Kapil Dev’s unbeaten 175 was a knock that lifted India from 17-5 to a win over Zimbabwe in the third edition of the World Cup.
Coming to bat at number six, skipper Kapil turned the match on its head with his 138-ball blitz laced with 16 fours and six sixes at Tunbridge Wells to keep India in the hunt for the title.
He got support from wicketkeeper-batsman Syed Kirmani, who hit an unbeaten 24, as India posted 266-8 in the 60-overs-a-side match and then bundled out Zimbabwe for 235.
Interestingly broadcasters BBC did not cover the game and hence no footage was available of Kapil’s epic that inspired the team to win their maiden World Cup title after beating the much-fancied West Indies in the final.
– Inzamam-ul-Haq: 60 (March 21, 1992) –
A little-known Inzamam-ul-Haq rose to cricketing stardom with his 37-ball 60 to drive Pakistan’s successful chase in a World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
The 22-year-old Inzamam, for whom skipper Imran Khan fought with the selectors for a World Cup place, took centre-stage at 140-4 in a chase of 263 — a challenging ask in the pre-T20 era.
He took on the Kiwi bowlers with his laidback elegance and assured strokeplay to turn the tide in his team’s favour with support from the ever-dependable Javed Miandad, who made 57 not out.
Inzamam was run out in the 45th over but ensured the team momentum by then as Miandad and Moin Khan clinched victory with an over to spare, leaving New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe heartbroken in Auckland.
The innings helped Pakistan move into their first World Cup final and won the title after beating Graham Gooch’s England.
– Herschelle Gibbs: 175 (March 12, 2006) –
South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs entered the record books with his 175 off 111 balls in an epic ODI involving Australia which produced 872 runs in 99.5 overs of intense drama in Johannesburg.
In the fifth and deciding match of the bi-lateral contest, Australia had put up a record total of 434-4 in 50 overs courtesy of captain Ricky Ponting’s flawless 105-ball 164.
South Africa lost opener Boeta Dippenaar for one in the second over but Gibbs came in with a steely resolve to put on a partnership of 187 with skipper Graeme Smith, who made 90, to set the tone for the record chase.
Gibbs departed in the 32nd over with the Proteas on 299-4 before Mark Boucher hit an unbeaten 50 and steered the team to victory with a ball to spare.
The knock remained Gibbs’ highest ODI total in his 248-match career that ended in 2010.
