"The greatest ODI knock ever"

Chasing 292 runs to win, Australia were 91 for 7. Then Glenn Maxwell intervened with a sensational 201 not out, 179 of which were scored in an unbroken 202-run partnership with his captain Pat Cummins.

Maxwell was dropped twice, on 24 and 33, and also started to leave the field on 27 before, much to his surprise, he was reprieved after opting to review when given out lbw. From the moment Mujeeb Ur Rahman spilled the second of those catches, neither Afghanistan's bowlers, nor back and cramp issues that left him collapsed in agony at times, could stop Maxwell.

With 100 runs needed, he was struggling to run, by the time it got down to 75 he could barely move his feet to play a shot.
Not that it mattered. Maxwell's hand-eye coordination and ball-striking were nigh-on perfect as he finished with 201 not out off just 128 balls - a knock somehow even better than his World Cup fastest century off 40 balls against the Netherlands last month. Maxwell's historic innings is the first time anyone has made a double century when chasing in a one-day international and the first by a non-opening batter.

Glenn Maxwell's extraordinary batting impressed cricket legends. Sachin Tendulkar, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, couldn't contain his admiration for Maxwell's remarkable performance. Tendulkar has labelled Maxwell's innings against Afghanistan the best he's seen in one-day international cricket, headlining a long list of praise for Australia's explosive allrounder.

"From Max pressure to Max performance! This has been the best ODI knock I've seen in my life," Tendulkar tweeted.

Adam Gilchrist, long regarded as one of Australia's greatest white-ball batsmen, said, "Clearly the best ODI innings ever."

Former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan tweeted, "BEST EVER WHITE BALL INNING!"

Former English captain Michael Vaughan tweeted, "The GREATEST ODI innings of all time @Gmaxi_32. You could say the GREATEST innings of all time."

Pakistan legend Wasim Akram said, "This is easily the best ODI innings I have seen recently take a bow."

Former Indian batter and well-known filder, Mohammad Kaif, tweeted, "Greatest odi knock ever !!!!!! #Maxwell."

Maxwell's captain, who shared an unbroken 202-run partnership with Maxwell, Pat Cummins told reporters after match, "I think that's the greatest ODI innings."