On Tuesday, November 7, at the famous Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Australia played Afghanistan in a World Cup match. Glenn Maxwell was the team’s hero. The star all-rounder chased a manageable mark of 292 and returned with a record-breaking innings of 201*. Australia was trailing 91/7 when they managed to overcome the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team and win. With what is perhaps the greatest ODI innings in history, Maxwell enabled Australia to secure their place in the competition semifinals.
Despite his physical difficulties, Glenn Maxwell persisted in leading Australia’s innings. Throughout the game, he had back pain and cramping to the point that he was unable to stand at one point. He nevertheless persisted unwaveringly and carried Australia on his shoulders by himself.
He used one leg for nearly all of the strokes he hit and sixes he slammed. Oftentimes, Maxwell was depicted as lying on the ground since his body was unable to bear the circumstances. He was still unable to run because of his cramps, even after receiving treatment. But with scorching fours and sixes, the 35-year-old turned it into a one-man show, captain Pat Cummins holding his end.
There were queries about why he didn’t sprint when experiencing excruciating cramps. Interestingly, he chose not to utilize a runner since the ICC has declared that the rule (which calls for assigning a runner to an injured batter) is no longer in effect. Because runners might have impeded the field, the ICC ended the practice.
Specifically, many other batters have in the past taken up runners in accordance with their circumstances, but Maxwell was unable to do so when facing Afghanistan. Virender Sehwag supported Sachin Tendulkar during his historic 98 runs against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup. In the same way, Suresh Raina was a player for VVS Laxman before the latter’s furious tirade against Pragyan Ojha during the 2009 Mohali Test. In the 2011 World Cup, Gautam Gambhir ran for Sehwag during the latter’s 175 against Bangladesh, while Yuvraj took MS Dhoni’s place in the 2019 match against Bangladesh.
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