Afghanistan vs Australia Match Scorecard: Maxwell’s Stunning 201* Shocks Afghanistan in 2023 World Cup

Glenn Maxwell walked out with Australia teetering at 49 for 4, facing a hat-trick ball from Azmatullah Omarzai. Eighty overs later, he had rewritten what a single ODI innings could achieve.

This is the complete Afghanistan vs Australia match full scorecard 2023 from the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup clash at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on November 7, 2023 — a game that swung from an Afghanistan triumph to an Australian miracle inside one session.

Quick Match Facts

Afghanistan Innings — 291/5 (50 overs)

Extras: 16 (lb 5, nb 1, w 10) · Total: 291/5 in 50 overs · Run rate: 5.82

Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Gurbaz, 7.6) · 2-121 (Rahmat Shah, 24.4) · 3-173 (Shahidi, 37.2) · 4-210 (Omarzai, 42.3) · 5-233 (Nabi, 45.3)

Australia bowling: Josh Hazlewood 9-0-39-2, Mitchell Starc 9-0-70-1, Adam Zampa 10-0-55-1, Pat Cummins 8-0-47-0, Glenn Maxwell 10-0-58-1, Travis Head 3-0-15-0, Mitchell Marsh 1-0-2-0.

Australia Innings — 293/7 (46.5 overs)

Extras: 15 (b 4, lb 1, w 10) · Total: 293/7 in 46.5 overs · Run rate: 6.25

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Head, 1.2) · 2-43 (Marsh, 5.4) · 3-49 (Warner, 8.1) · 4-49 (Inglis, 8.2) · 5-69 (Labuschagne, 14.1) · 6-87 (Stoinis, 16.4) · 7-91 (Starc, 18.3)

Afghanistan bowling: Mujeeb Ur Rahman 8.5-1-72-0, Naveen-ul-Haq 9-0-47-2, Azmatullah Omarzai 7-1-52-2, Rashid Khan 10-0-44-2, Noor Ahmad 10-1-53-0, Mohammad Nabi 2-0-20-0.

Key Partnerships

Five Turning Points That Decided the Match

• Zadran’s ramp over the keeper (14th over): signaled Afghanistan’s intent to attack spin-heavy fields and set up their first World Cup century.
• Omarzai’s double strike (9th over of the chase): Warner and Inglis fell in consecutive balls, dropping Australia to 49 for 4 and putting Afghanistan in control.
• Australia slump to 91 for 7 (18.3 overs): Naveen-ul-Haq and Omarzai’s new-ball spell left Australia needing a near-impossible recovery.
• Maxwell survives a reviewed LBW (21.2 overs): Afghanistan’s successful review was later shown to be an umpire’s call on marginal impact, and the wicket was upheld in the earlier instance but Maxwell also survived a separate close shout — the innings could have ended well before his century.
• Six, six, four, six off Mujeeb (final overs): with 21 required, Maxwell closed out both the chase and his double century in one sequence, ending Afghanistan’s resistance.

Maxwell’s Innings: How the Chase Was Won

Maxwell reached his first hundred off 76 balls and needed only 52 more for his second, anchoring an unbroken 202-run eighth-wicket stand with Pat Cummins, who scored just 12 off 68 balls while Maxwell did the scoring.

The innings had a physical cost. Maxwell began cramping badly in the 41st over, barely able to stand, and batted through the closing stages without moving his feet, leaning on timing and reverse-sweeps to keep the innings alive.

Captaincy and Tactical Calls That Shaped the Result

Hashmatullah Shahidi’s batting call: after winning three successive World Cup chases, Afghanistan’s captain chose to bat first this time, backing his top order on a Wankhede pitch that was drier than usual.

Four spinners, but pacers did the damage: Afghanistan fielded four frontline spinners, yet seamers Naveen-ul-Haq and Omarzai caused the real early damage with the new ball; Rashid Khan was the only Afghan bowler Maxwell never got the better of.

Cummins the shield, not the scorer: Australia’s captain chose to simply survive alongside Maxwell rather than chase runs himself, absorbing pressure for 68 balls to protect strike for his in-form partner.

Why This Match Is Considered One of ODI Cricket’s Greatest

This single contest stacked up several records that rarely occur in the same game:

• First double century in ODI World Cup history, and only the third double-hundred in men’s World Cup cricket overall.
• Highest individual score by any batter in a successful ODI run chase — a record Maxwell still holds.
• Highest score by a batter at No. 6 or lower in ODI history, and the first double-century by an Australian in men’s ODIs.
• Australia’s recovery from 91 for 7 remains one of the great collapses-to-comeback swings in World Cup history.
• Maxwell battled severe cramps for close to half his innings, unable to run freely, yet still struck 10 sixes.
• Afghanistan came within seven wickets of their first-ever World Cup semi-final, a heartbreak that still defines the tightness of the margins between the two sides.

Former players including Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram publicly rated the innings among the greatest in ODI history in the aftermath of the match.

Statistical Comparison

Career Impact for Maxwell

The innings pushed Maxwell’s reputation beyond a limited-overs finisher into genuinely historic territory, with the 201* now cited alongside Kapil Dev’s 175 and Viv Richards’ 189* as one of the defining chases in ODI history. It also broke David Warner’s previous record for the highest score by an Australian batter in ODIs, which had also been set against Afghanistan, in 2015.

Match Impact: What It Meant

Australia’s victory secured qualification for the semi-finals of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, joining hosts India and South Africa in the knockout stage.

For Afghanistan, the defeat ended a run of three straight successful chases and their outside semi-final hopes, but Zadran’s century and the bowlers’ opening spell showed a side capable of testing any full-member team on its day.

FAQs

What was the final result of the Afghanistan vs Australia World Cup match?
Australia won by 3 wickets with 19 balls remaining, chasing down Afghanistan’s 291/5 with 293/7, powered by Glenn Maxwell’s unbeaten 201.

Who scored the century for Afghanistan in this match?
Ibrahim Zadran scored an unbeaten 129 off 143 balls, becoming Afghanistan’s first-ever centurion at a Cricket World Cup.

How many runs did Glenn Maxwell score against Afghanistan?
Maxwell scored 201 not out off 128 balls, with 21 fours and 10 sixes, in Australia’s successful run chase.

What was Australia’s lowest point in the chase?
Australia fell to 91 for 7 in the 19th over before Maxwell and Pat Cummins added an unbroken 202 runs for the eighth wicket.

Where was the Afghanistan vs Australia World Cup match played?
The match was played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on November 7, 2023, as the 39th match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Who won the toss in this match?
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first.

How big was the Maxwell-Cummins partnership?
The pair added 202 runs for the eighth wicket, unbroken, with Maxwell contributing 179 of those runs and Cummins scoring 12 off 68 balls.

Which bowlers troubled Australia early in the chase?
Naveen-ul-Haq and Azmatullah Omarzai combined for 4 wickets in the powerplay, reducing Australia to 49 for 4 and later 91 for 7.

Did this match decide World Cup semi-final qualification?
Yes. The win confirmed Australia’s place in the 2023 World Cup semi-finals alongside India and South Africa.

What records did Glenn Maxwell set in this innings?
His 201 not out was the first double century in ODI World Cup history, the highest score in a successful ODI run chase, and the highest score by a batter at No. 6 or lower in ODI history.