I just wanted to be positive and get my movement back: Maxwell
After Australia fell to 91/7 in the 19th over, Glenn Maxwell told skipper Pat Cummins, who came to bat, to wait a few more overs to get things underway against Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
Mumbai, November 7: After Australia fell to 91/7 in the 19th over, Glenn Maxwell told skipper Pat Cummins, who came into bat, to wait a few more overs to get the fight going against Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium here on Tuesday.
Sure and precise, Maxwell, who was named Player of the Match, and Cummins dragged Australia back into the match, taking advantage of every opportunity that came their way.
Unable to move as severe cramps set in, Maxwell again told Cummins that at the end they should stay where they were for a while until he could regain some movement. Maxwell was treated by the Australian physio and played one of the best one-day innings, hitting an unbeaten 201 off 128 balls and picking up 202 runs for the unfinished 8th wicket partnership, as Australia reached 293/7 in 46.5 overs, chasing Afghanistan’s 291/5 in 50 overtime hours.
As the five-time champions fell to 91/7, Maxwell, who returned to the side after missing a match due to a concussion suffered from a golf cart injury, said he just wanted to be positive in his approach.
“It was quite warm when we were fielding today. I haven’t really been doing a ton of high intensity exercise in the heat and it certainly got to me today and luckily we came up with a plan to stay on the same side for a while until I could sort to get some exercise back, luckily I was able to stay until the end,” said Maxwell during the post-match presentation, after guiding Australia to a three-wicket win against Afghanistan and confirming their place in the semi-finals.
Australia’s five-time champions will face South Africa in the second semi-final, to be played at Eden Gardens on November 16.
He said the plan was to stay positive, stick to the batting plan and go after the bowling to force mistakes.
“It was really about sticking to our batting plan. I guess for me it was still trying to be positive, still trying to tackle them and produce bad balls or anything else that I could score with,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell said the lbw appeal he survived off DRS was the trigger for him to go after the bowling. “That was probably the kick-start that I had to tell myself to start playing my shots and be a little bit more proactive.
The middle-order batsman said the pitch under lights offered a bit more swing and movement, which made things difficult for his team.
“I think you definitely saw a little more waving and poking around under the lights,” he said.
He credited the Afghan bowlers for taking early wickets and putting pressure on Australia, something the Australian bowlers could not do earlier in the day.
“Credit to them, they bowled absolutely beautifully from the front and put us behind. What we struggled with was taking early wickets and putting them under pressure, but credit to them for bowling well up front,” he said.
Maxwell said his team, which was written off after losing its first two World Cup matches against India and South Africa, has surprised many by winning six games in a row.
“I think after the first two games everyone was pretty quick to write us off and to now come back and win six in a row is a great effort from this group,” Maxwell said.
Australia, who confirmed third place in the standings with 12 points, have one match left in the World Cup, against Bangladesh at the MCA International Stadium, Pune, on November 11. But that is now just a formality because the chasing players can only get 10 points and therefore compete for fourth place in the semi-finals.