Last Update on: November 8th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has accused Afghanistan players of being arrogant during the game against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday (November 7).
Afghanistan were just three wickets away from registering one of the biggest wins in their cricket history but ended up suffering a heartbreaking loss. Batting first, Afghanistan piled up a competitive total of 291 for 5 in the allotted 50 overs. Opener Ibrahim Zadran led the charge with the bat by scoring Afghanistan’s first-ever ODI World Cup ton.
The bowlers put their team firmly in the driver’s seat by reducing Australia to 91 for 7. With the likes of Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, and Marnus Stoinis back in the hut, the game looked all but over for the five-time world champions.
Kamran Akmal on Afghanistan’s loss:
However, Glenn Maxwell had other ideas. The hard-hitting middle-order batter came up with one arguably the greatest ODI knock of all time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for his side. He smashed an unbeaten 201 runs off just 128 balls with the help of 21 fours and 10 sixes and shared an unbeaten stand of 202 runs with captain Pat Cummins who scored 12 off 68 balls.
Following Australia’s miraculous win, Kamran Akmal has said that Afghanistan players’ arrogance was one of the reasons behind their downfall. He stated that the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side became arrogant after reducing Australia to 91 for 7. He also heaped praise on Maxwell’s knock.
“Afghanistan players got arrogant when Australia lost 7 wickets, which brought their downfall. But I have never seen an individual innings like the one which Maxwell played, it was unbelievable,” Kamran Amal said.
'Afghanistan players got arrogant when Australia lost 7 wickets, which brought their downfall. But I have never seen an individual innings like the one which Maxwell played, it was unbelievable' – Kamran Akmal 🔥🔥 #CWC23 #AUSvsAFG pic.twitter.com/Z8y0lp82m0
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) November 8, 2023
Meanwhile, Maxwell’s double-century is the first-ever ODI double ton from a team batting second and is also the first ever by a batsman who was not opening the innings. He also became the first Australian male cricketer to score a double century in ODIs. The win over Afghanistan has also helped Australia book their place in the semifinals
