ODI World Cup 2023: Afghanistan scored 291 runs against Australia

Australia and Afghanistan faced off each other at the Wankhede Stadium in a crucial encounter for both teams. Both teams made a few changes to their playing 11. Australia replaced Steven Smith and Cameron Green with Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell while Afghanistan replaced Fazalhaq Farooqi with Naveen-ul-Haq. Afghanistan scored 291 runs in the first innings. Here is a recap of the innings.

Afghanistan started cautiously in the powerplay

Mitchell Starc found some swing early on in his first over conceding five runs. Josh Hazlewood from the opposite end bowled a one-run over. The first boundary of the match came in the third over as Ibrahim Zadran smashed a cover drive for a four. Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the following over smashed a four off Hazlewood’s bowling. Gurbaz smashed yet another four in the fifth over as Starc conceded 19 runs in his first three overs. Glenn Maxwell replaced the left-arm seamer in the seventh over. Hazlewood got the first breakthrough for the Australian team in the eighth over and dismissed Gurbaz. Gurbaz scored 21 runs in 25 balls hitting two fours. Pat Cummins bowled the last over of the powerplay as Afghanistan ended with 46 runs for the loss of one wicket.

Zadran and Rahmat solidify the batting order

Maxwell bowled the first over after the powerplay and was smashed for a four conceding nine runs in his over. Cummins conceded seven runs in the 14th over. Adam Zampa was introduced in the attack in the 15th over. Starc returned to the attack and bowled one of the most poor overs of his career during his second over of the spell. Starc bowled four wides in the 18th over conceding 13 runs and was also smashed for a four. Zadran brought up his half-century with the boundary. Travis Head replaced Starc in the 20th over. Both Rahmat Shah and Zadran were finding it easy to rotate the strike and bowled 61 runs in 13 overs (11-23).

Australian bowlers slow down scoring

Maxwell was bowling economically and finally got his first wicket by dismissing Shah in the 25th over. Rahmat scored 30 runs in 44 balls hitting just one four. Cummins and Maxwell bowled in tandem and dried up runs for Afghanistan. The duo conceded just 14 runs in four overs (26-29). Zampa came back into the attack in the 31st over and was hit for two fours conceding 11 runs. Runs further dried up for Afghanistan, as they scored just 20 runs in the space of six overs (32-37). Starc finally got his first wicket of the match after bowling a bit poorly throughout the innings. Starc bowled Hashmatullah Shahidi, who scored 26 runs in 43 balls hitting two fours. 

Afghanistan starts to accelerate

Azmatullah Omarzai in the same over smashed the first six of the match. Cummins replaced Starc and was smashed for three fours one of which came through leg byes. Omarzai scored the boundaries. Zampa came back into the attack in the 41st over. The leg-spinner conceded nine runs in the over and was smashed for a six by Omarzai. Omarzai was dismissed by Zampa in his following over. Zampa picked up his first wicket while Omarzai had to go back to the pavilion after scoring 22 runs in 18 balls hitting one four and two sixes. Zadran finally brought up his century in the 44th over in 131 balls. He became the first Afghan batter to score a century in the World Cup. 

Zadran smashed his first six of the match in the 45th over by clearing the long-on boundary. Zampa bowled out his 10th over after conceding 11 runs in the 45th over. The Australian leg-spinner ended with figures 10-0-58-1. Hazlewood after being hit for a six in the 4th over dismissed Mohammad Nabi. Maxwell came into the attack in the 47th over and bowled an expensive over conceding 16 runs after Rashid Khan smashed the Australian all-rounder for a six and a four each.