'Stuff of legends!' by Glenn Maxwell, says former Pakistan captain after Australian hits double century in ICC World Cup 2023

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Glenn Maxwell played a knock for the ages in the ICC World Cup 2023 as Australia recovered from 91/7 to 2923/7 while chasing a record 292 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday (November 7). Pakistan legend Wasim Akram rated the innings as 'stuff of legends".

The former Pakistan captain, who took over 900 international wickets, noted that Glenn Maxwell suffered cramps during the innings and it is very difficult to go through with your innings in such a pain as it never goes away.

"Unbelievable, one-man show, the stuff of the legends," said Wasim Akram on Pakistan's sports channel A Sports. "There's a saying that one man can't win you a game. What an absolute lie. We saw today that one man can win you a match from an unbelievable situation.

"You need will when you go through cramps like that, you can ask any of these greats how painful it is and it doesn't go away. We have to credit the captain (Pat Cummins) too for showing situation awareness, he stood there for 68 deliveries and gave the striker to his main player to do the job. And Glenn Maxwell showed he is the best ODI cricketer in the world at the moment. I have never seen anything like this before in my 40 years with cricket."

Glenn Maxwell, who hit the first-ever double century in an ICC World Cup, had a 202-run unbeaten stand with Cummins for the eighth wicket while the pinch-hitter slammed 10 sixes and 21 fours during the 128-ball stay as Australia chased down the total with 19 balls to spare.

The innings for the ages overshadowed a special knock of 129 not out by Ibrahim Zadran, who became the first Afghanistan cricketer to slam a century in an ICC World Cup. Australia also qualified for the semifinal with the win while Afghanistan will fight it out for the last remaining spot with Pakistan and New Zealand. India and South Africa earlier qualified for the semifinal with the host on an eight-match winning run at the ICC World Cup 2023.