Australia get back to winning ways

Australia set the records book on fire with a swashbuckling performance against Afghanistan as they simply demolished the afghans with a record breaking 275-run win. It’s the biggest win for any team in the history of the world cup and it came at a time when they needed it most.

Afghanistan made a huge mistake by giving Australia the chance of batting first even after winnings the toss as they were made to pay big time. David Warner (178) and Steve Smith (95) simply ran through the Afghan bowling attack as they posted 260 runs for the second wicket in just 34.3 overs. That partnership set the platform for the likes of Maxwell, Haddin and Faulkner to make full use of the conditions. And they did just that. Faulkner (7) failed to make any big contribution but Maxwell set the stage on fire with an innings of 88 runs off 39 balls which included 6 fours and 7 sixes. Haddin also played a cameo of 20 runs from 9 balls to take Australia’s total to 417/6 in 50 overs- the highest ever by any team in world cups. They surpassed the previous record which was set by India against Bermuda eight years back in West Indies.

Now such a fiery batting was well backed up by some disciplined bowling as the Aussies wrapped up the Afghan innings after they had scored 142 runs. The Afghans found the Aussie pace bowlers too hot handle that too while chasing 418 and suffered a record breaking defeat. Mitchell Johnson turned out to be the most effective amongst all the bowlers as he picked up 4 wickets giving away 22 runs in the 7.3 overs that he bowled. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood also got 2 wickets each. Michael Clarke who did not come out to bat tried to make an impact with the ball in hand and he got the wicket of Samiullah Shenwari. Glen Maxwell got the other one.

It was a much needed win for the hosts after their defeat against co-host New Zealand. And the way they achieved it was quite amazing. This all round performance will surely give some relief to the Australian think tank after their horrendous performance with the bat in the previous outing.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.