Glenn Maxwell made fans go berserk at Kotla with his flamboyant batting as he smashed the fastest century in World Cup history, off just 40 balls. It was absolute madness from Maxwell as he targeted the short boundaries and hit sixes with total ease. He smashed a couple of sixes of reverse-sweep which made the fans jump out of their seats as the Netherlands were clueless about where to bowl. Maxwell produced an out-and-out blockbuster that the fans enjoyed thoroughly in the capital city.
It was the fourth match at Arun Jaitley Stadium and fans came in big numbers to witness a batting masterclass from Australia. With the sun shining brightly in the afternoon, the number of fans gradually started increasing in the evening. It was probably one of their best decisions as Maxwell’s carnage blew away the Netherlands in the final 10 overs of the innings.
It was just a one-man show in the slog overs as Australia managed to collect 131 runs in the last 10 overs to post a mammoth 399/8 in 50 overs.
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Maxwell came out to bat in the 40th over of the innings when wicketkeeper Josh Inglish was dismissed by Bas de Leede. The Netherlands wouldn’t thought or even imagined that the coming overs were going to be a nightmare for them.
He didn’t take much time to get settled and smashed boundaries on the third and fourth delivery he faced and there was no stopping for him after that. The flamboyant all-rounder took the Dutch bowlers for cleaners. He completed his half-century with a six on reverse sweep off Bas de Leede’s delivery. It was a nonchalant shot which only Maxwell could have played in that way against a pacer. He didn’t stop there and connected the next ball, which was a short one, once again for a reverse sweep as the crowd went berserk. It was Maxwell’s first 50-plus score in the last 16 innings and he did it in style and made it bigger.
Maxwell was on 75 when two overs were left with the record of the fastest ODI century in his sight. The 35-year-old took the matter seriously and reached the mark in the next over itself. He reached the mark with a maximum over square leg on a delivery which was a waist-height no-ball.
He smashed 28 runs of De Leede’s penultimate over – 4,4,6,6,6nb,1,0.
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It was a forgettable night for De Leede as he registered the most expensive figures in ODI cricket history – 10-0-115-2.
Maxwell broke the record of Aiden Markram for the fastest ODI World Cup, who also registered it in the ongoing edition and co-incidentally at the same venue earlier this month. He smacked Sri Lanka to reach the mark in 49 balls but Maxwell made sure it didn’t last longer.
Earlier, David Warner also smashed a century to make it an ideal homecoming at Arun Jaitley Stadium where he played in the IPL for Delhi Capitals. He took 91 balls to reach the mark and equalled the tally of legendary Sachin Tendulkar of most centuries in World Cup – 6. He is now just one short of equaling Rohit Sharma who is at the top of the list with 7.
Warner (104) played sensibly and set the platform for Australia to post a big score and Maxwell gave it an ultra-boost to take the five-time champions closer to 400.
He was dismissed by Logan van Beek in the final over of the innings after he smashed his straight down the ground but was caught near the boundary line by Sybrand Engelbrecht. His astonishing knock was laced with 9 fours and 8 sixes.
Brief scores: Australia 399-8 (Glenn Maxwell 106, David Warner 104, Steve Smith 71, Marnus Labuschagne 62; Logan van Beek 4-74)
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