Bruised, but not battered

How much pain is too much, if I may ask? When do you finally tap out of the battle? Never, if you are Glenn Maxwell.

A short while after he walked in to bat on Tuesday while wickets fell like a pack of cards, a part of Maxwell's body nearly quit on him. He was barely able to run without a grimace, wore a brace to hold up his creaking knees and walked gingerly between overs.

But just when it seemed that pain had got the better of him, Maxwell pushed back. He left no stone unturned to prove his faith in leading the five-time champions to an exhilarating victory.

Maxwell, appropriately nicknamed the 'Big Show', executed shots with the grace of a trapeze artist, with his 128-ball stay featuring 21 fours and 10 sixes. The all-rounder, battling severe cramps in his hamstring and calf muscles, thumped one big hit after another, favouring the area down the ground at batting-friendly Wankhede. And as the sixes rained down, the buoyant Afghans looked shell-shocked. Skipper Pat Cummins had the best view than anyone as Maxwell wrapped things up with a six to go to his double century in storybook style.

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Australia were all but beaten at 91 for seven, chasing 292 on the desperate lookout for a victory. Afghanistan's spirits were raised early on but Maxwell would not yield. That we came to realise that only later.

"I'm leaving if they get him (Maxwell)," Mark Bennet was heard telling his son. When asked if Australia stood a chance of winning, the 70-year-old reacted by simply shrugging his shoulders and taking a sip of his beverage. "We hope to stay a bit longer in India," he quickly added. His voice was gruff, brows drawn together in a frown, and yet his blue eyes twinkled with humour. His son, Henry, meanwhile, paid little heed to his displeasure and was seemingly concerned about Maxwell's deteriorating health.

The lanky all-rounder battled through the pain barrier as a near-capacity Wankhede crowd watched in horror. One moment the young and determined Maxwell was cruising powerfully to a batting milestone, the next he leapt into the air, twisted down, staggered, stopped, and fell flat on the ground, as the cramp hit him like a bullet. "He does not look good. Hope he sticks around for a bit," said Henry.

His prayers were answered at last.

Maxwell terrorised Afghanistan's spin troika to snatch victory from jaws of defeat with 201 not out, which is only the third double hundred in World Cup history. He did, however, have to overturn an lbw decision when given out to spinner Noor Ahmad on 27 and went on to receive a major reprieve when dropped on 33 as Mujeeb Ur Rahman floored a simple chance at fine leg.

Despite having more than one world-class spinner, Afghanistan looked bereft of ideas on how to pick up Maxwell's wicket through the middle overs, or even indeed how to stifle the scoring. The side will rue a missed opportunity to put the game to bed with the ball, with coach Jonathan Trott admitting it will be a ‘bitter pill to swallow'. Indeed, having won the toss and elected to bat first, for much of the contest, this seemed like a performance that the likes of Rashid Khan, Ibrahim Zadran, and Naveen-ul-Haq had long threatened to put together.

Instead, the Afghans were served a harsh lesson in the realities of modern ODI cricket, as Australia hunted down the target with 19 balls to spare. Following a top-order debacle, Maxwell needed an ally and found an ideal partner in Cummins, who held firm for 12 not out in an extraordinary unbroken partnership of 202.

It was a stand that eventually broke the spine of the restless Afghan fielders, though even then it might not have been enough had Maxwell himself not valiantly stuck around till the end. Australia have now qualified for the semi-finals with a game to spare after being handed two successive defeats by unbeaten hosts India and South Africa, who have already booked their places in the last four.

"We teach our children to never give up on anything too easily. That is our way of life. You saw a glimpse of it here tonight. This is what makes this side so different from others. The boys made me so proud," Bennet Senior remarked.

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Henry reciprocated his father's sentiment with a beaming smile and held up his arm to show off a tattoo that read, ‘No Pain, No Gain'. A few metres away, another Australian father-son duo broke into an impromptu dance-off, prompting others to try a step or two.

"It is coming home this year, everyone's prepared," quipped Henry. "People wrote us off after those two heavy defeats, but our performances have silenced the critics. Happy about that. I'll get 2-3 extra jerseys for the final now, in case someone wants to borrow."