ICC World Cup 2023: Is Maxwell’s double-century knock against Afghanistan the best ODI innings of all time

Possibly the most remarkable performance in ODI history, Maxwell has scored 201* in 128 balls lifting Australia from the depths of defeat, but is this the greatest innings by a batsman in the history of ODI cricket?

Glenn Maxwell has clinched the third semifinal spot for Australia in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 after a majestic double-century against all odds.

Possibly the most remarkable performance in ODI history, Maxwell has scored 201* in 128 balls lifting Australia from the depths of defeat.

Australia was 91 for seven at a point, 199 runs away from the victory with all hopes lost, but Maxwell refused to give up and gave the world a knock to remember him by from possibly his last World Cup.

The headlines were not the only thing that Maxwell broke at the Wankhede having beaten multiple big ODI records.

Viv Richards scored 189* against England in 1987, which was 69.48 per cent of his team’s total score. Maxwell almost broke the record scoring 68.60 per cent of Australia’s 293 runs.

Maxwell also broke the record of the most runs scored by a batter at number six, previously held by India’s Kapil Dev for his 175-run knock against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.

Maxwell came close but couldn’t break the record for the highest runs scored by an individual in an innings as Martin Guptil’s 237 against England from the 2015 World Cup still remains unbeaten.

Although all of these innings above are remarkable in their own league, Maxwell’s double-century innings vs Afghanistan is truly the greatest in the history of the ODI World Cup because of the situation he was in and the things at stake.

Maxwell’s knock not only completed the comeback in the match, but the tournament as a whole, as Australia had lost the first two games in the tournament. Now it has qualified for the semifinals with a game in hand.

The other batters mentioned above were setting a target, but Maxwell was chasing one, that too which was nearly impossible to reach.

The odds were stacked against Maxwell as the all-rounder was cramping throughout the innings, but the hitter managed to score a double-century without moving his feet. There was a point when he was about to retire, but Maxwell played through the pain and now has the world at his feet.

If Maxwell is fit to play the remaining games and the semifinal match for Australia is yet to be confirmed, but what we know for sure is that this is truly the greatest knock by a player in the history of ODI cricket.