ICC World Cup 2023: Maxi does it so well

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell celebrates his ton against the Netherlands at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi yesterday. Pic/PTI

When South Africa's Aiden Markram hit a blistering 49-ball century against Sri Lanka at the Kotla here, one did not think that the World Cup record of the fastest century would last barely a couple of weeks. At the same venue, Australia's Glenn Maxwell tore into a hapless Netherlands bowling attack and collected a century in a mere 40 deliveries.

That has now become not only the fastest in the World Cup, but also the fourth fastest ever in ODIs. His knock propelled Australia to a massive 399-8 after opting to bat. The huge total proved well beyond the Dutch team as they collapsed for a mere 90 in 21 overs, with Adam Zampa bagging 4-8, his third successive four-wicket haul.

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Biggest run-margin win

Though it was a massacre of the innocents, the massive 309-run win, the biggest by runs in the World Cup, was the much-needed boost the struggling Aussies required at this stage of the tournament as they consolidated their position with a third win in their fifth game.

They are currently in fourth spot with six points from five games, behind India, South Africa and New Zealand. Their next battle against New Zealand at Dharamshala on Saturday is going to be absolutely crucial. Maxwell's breathtaking century had some amazing strokes. He hit sixes with reverse sweeps and reverse pulls with ease. His knock will be remembered for a very long time. It overshadowed opener David Warner's 104 off 93 balls with 11 fours and three sixes, the left-hander's second successive three-figure mark, following the 163 against Pakistan in Bangalore.

Maxwell stole the show as he got to his half-century off just 13 balls and reached his hundred in 27 more deliveries. His 106 off just 44 balls had nine fours and eight sixes. His knock just took the steam out of the Dutch challenge as they collapsed like a pack of cards.

One-sided stand with Pat

Another amazing stat about Maxwell was that he contributed as many as 91 in the 103-run seventh-wicket partnership with his skipper Pat Cummins whose contribution was a mere eight. Steven Smith (71 off 68) and Marnus Labuschagne (62 off 47) also getting half-centuries augurs well for the five-time champions who have had a rather tame start to their campaign. With Bangladesh and Afghanistan among their last four opponents, they would be pretty confident of sneaking into the last four to have a shot at the title they last won at home in 2015.

Brief scores
Australia 399-8 in 50 overs (G Maxwell 106, D Warner 104, S Smith 71, M Labuschagne 62; L Beek 4-74, B Leede 2-115) beat The Netherlands 90 all out in 21 overs (V Singh 25; A Zampa 4-8, Mitchell 2-19) by 309 runs