3 reasons why Glenn Maxwell's 201* vs Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup is the greatest ODI knock ever

Australia’s batting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell clobbered a scintillating 201* off 128 balls to guide his side to a three-wicket win over Afghanistan in match number 39 of the 2023 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. With the victory, the Aussies also confirmed their spot in the semi-finals.

Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first in the game. They did well to post 291/5 on the board as Ibrahim Zadran (129* off 143) became the first batter from his country to score a hundred in the ODI World Cup. Rashid Khan (35* off 18) chipped in with a fine cameo to provide the finishing touches to the innings.

On the other hand, Afghanistan kept chipping away at Australia’s wickets. However, they dropped Maxwell early in his innings and the "Big Show" made the fielding side pay, slamming 21 fours and 10 sixes in his incredible knock. In the end, Australia overhauled Afghanistan’s target in 46.5 overs.

Speaking after the win, Australian captain Pat Cummins described Maxwell’s effort as the “greatest ODI innings that's ever happened”. We analyze three reasons why he might be right.

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#1 Scoring 200 in a chase is a phenomenal effort

The Big Show smashes one en route to his double hundred. (Pic: AP)

Scoring a double hundred in ODIs is not easy, even though a number of batters have reached the landmark in recent years. However, while hitting a double-century batting first is considered a magnificent effort, doing so in a chase is absolutely phenomenal.

It is not a surprise then that Maxwell became the first batter to score a double hundred in a chase in ODIs. The previous best was 193 by Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman against South Africa in Johannesburg in April 2021, which came in a losing cause. This just demonstrates how difficult batting second is.

If you look at the top scores by batters in winning causes, another Aussie, former all-rounder Shane Watson is second on the list. He hammered an unbeaten 185 off 96 balls against Bangladesh in 2011 in Mirpur. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have both scored 183 in chases in 2005 and 2012, respectively.

On the contrary, 10 double hundreds have been scored by batters while their side has batted first and there are two 194s as well scored by Charles Coventry and Saeed Anwar, respectively, Significantly, all these knocks, including the one by Dhoni (he batted at No. 3), came in the top order.

The stats make it amply clear that Maxwell’s knock was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of effort.

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#2 The precarious game situation

Australia had lost seven wickets for 91 runs. (Pic: AP)

Not only did Maxwell play a superb knock, but he did it with his team’s back completely to the wall. Few teams would have recovered from 91/7 to successfully chase down 292. Australia did it and they managed to pull it off almost solely because of one man’s effort, with Cummins (12* off 68) playing a support act.

With 201 runs in a total of 293, Maxwell scored nearly 70 percent of the runs on his own - the "Big Show" putting on a one-man show. That’s not all. The 35-year-old batted at No. 6 in the World Cup match against Afghanistan. His double hundred is the highest score by a batter at that position in an ODI chase by some distance.

The second best is 128 off 109 balls by West Indies against England in 2014 in North Sound. The knock, though, came in a losing cause as the Windies went down by 25 runs while chasing 304.

If we look at winning causes, the highest score by a batter [after Maxwell] in a chase while batting at No. 6 is 124 off 93 balls by Ricardo Powell for West Indies against India in Singapore way back in September 1999. This says a lot about the magnitude of Maxwell’s knock.

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#3 Maxwell battled cramps and back spasms

Glenn Maxwell’s fitness was tested during his knock in Mumbai. (Pic: AP)

Another reason why Maxwell’s 201* can be considered the greatest ODI knock ever is because of how he admirably battled pain and fitness issues, but did not give in.

The right-handed batter suffered from cramps in both legs and also experienced back spasms. At one point in time, it seemed that he wouldn’t be able to carry on. But, he did and how!

Australian captain Cummins admitted after the game that he didn’t think Maxwell could continue after cramping up badly.

“Yeah, I thought he was going off, so I kind of signaled to Zamps [Zampa] to get down here because he literally couldn’t move. The physio was out there obviously and he kind of convinced Maxi that if he came off it might be worse off, so try and hang out there. Stand up,” he stated.

At the end of the day, Maxwell’s stunning knock was not only a testament of his incredible talent but also to his immense mental resolve. For those two reasons, no one should grudge the Big Show’s knock being termed the greatest ever in ODIs.