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 MaxwellA short while after he walked in to bat on Tuesday while wickets fell like a pack of cards a part of Maxwells 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 oversBut 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 fivetime champions to an exhilarating victoryMaxwell appropriately nicknamed the Big Show executed shots with the grace of a trapeze artist with his 128ball stay featuring 21 fours and 10 sixes The allrounder battling severe cramps in his hamstring and calf muscles thumped one big hit after another favouring the area down the ground at battingfriendly Wankhede And as the sixes rained down the buoyant Afghans looked shellshocked 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 styleAlso ReadThe real King in our midstAustralia were all but beaten at 91 for seven chasing 292 on the desperate lookout for a victory Afghanistans spirits were raised early on but Maxwell would not yield That we came to realise that only laterldquoIrsquom leaving if they get him Maxwellrdquo Mark Bennet was heard telling his son When asked if Australia stood a chance of winning the 70yearold reacted by simply shrugging his shoulders and taking a sip of his beverage ldquoWe hope to stay a bit longer in Indiardquo 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 Maxwellrsquos deteriorating healthThe lanky allrounder battled through the pain barrier as a nearcapacity 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 ldquoHe does not look good Hope he sticks around for a bitrdquo said HenryHis prayers were answered at lastMaxwell terrorised Afghanistanrsquos 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 legDespite having more than one worldclass spinner Afghanistan looked bereft of ideas on how to pick up Maxwellrsquos 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 lsquobitter pill to swallowrsquo 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 NaveenulHaq had long threatened to put togetherInstead 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 toporder 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 202It 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 semifinals 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 fourldquoWe 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 proudrdquo Bennet Senior remarkedAlso ReadAfghans relish new lease of lifeHenry reciprocated his fatherrsquos sentiment with a beaming smile and held up his arm to show off a tattoo that read lsquoNo Pain No Gainrsquo A few metres away another Australian fatherson duo broke into an impromptu danceoff prompting others to try a step or twoldquoIt is coming home this year everyonersquos preparedrdquo quipped Henry ldquoPeople wrote us off after those two heavy defeats but our performances have silenced the critics Happy about that Irsquoll get 23 extra jerseys for the final now in case someone wants to borrowrdquo