Congratulations poured online in after Glenn Maxwell hit 201* against Afghanistan in one of the greatest comeback knocks to seal Australia’s place in the semi-final of the World Cup 2023.

Defeat looked inevitable for Australia when they lost their seventh wicket for just 91 runs while chasing Afghanistan’s target of 292. Azmatullah Omarzai took two wickets in as many balls and Marnus Labuschagne fell to a calamitous runout as the top and middle-order collapsed.

Maxwell, who witnessed much of the collapse from the non-striker’s end, remained the only beacon of hope for Australia. He was dropped on 33 by Mujeeb Ur Rahman off Noor Ahmad’s bowling. Rising to the occasion, he battled through cramps to smash an unbeaten 201 off 128 balls, single-handedly taking his team over the line to secure a semi-final berth. Maxwell scored the lion’s share of runs (179) during his 202-run stand with skipper Pat Cummins, who took a rearguard action, contributing 12 runs off 68 balls.

The cramps restricted Maxwell’s movements soon after he reached his fourth ODI ton, forcing him to rely on boundaries. He would often hobble for singles to keep the strike at the end of an over. Afghanistan watched in disbelief as Maxwell launched 21 fours and 10 sixes – many of them while playing from the crease and on one leg – to seal a heist for the five-time World Champions.

Maxwell became the first double-centurion in an ODI run-chase. He also beat Andrew Strauss’ 158 against India in 2011 to become the owner of the highest individual score during a chase in a World Cup match.

Social media were abuzz with the whirlwind knock as many reckoned it to be the greatest ODI innings of all time.

A wonderful knock by @IZadran18 to put Afghanistan in a good position. They started well in the 2nd half and played good cricket for 70 overs but the last 25 overs from @Gmaxi_32 was more than enough to change their fortune.

From Max pressure to Max performance! This has been… pic.twitter.com/M1CBulAgKw

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 7, 2023

The best ODI innings of all time

— Matt Roller (@mroller98) November 7, 2023

My goodness Maxi 😮😮😮

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) November 7, 2023

Whatever happens from here, are we already talking the greatest one-day innings of all time?

— Lawrence Booth (@BoothCricket) November 7, 2023

Old people on Twitter, is this what Kapil Dev sir’s 175 looked like? Sorry, sounded like?

— Danish Sait (@DanishSait) November 7, 2023

I never saw Marshall batting with a broken thumb against England in a Test, or Ranatunga playing similarly against Pakistan in series winning Test in Pakistan but in a WORLD cup when pressure was so intense , #Maxwell has played an insane innings.

— Vimal कुमार (@Vimalwa) November 7, 2023

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