Published: Mar 04, 2015, 11:14 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 04, 2015, 11:15 PM (IST)
After a washed-out match against Bangladesh and a defeat at the hands of co-hosts New Zealand, Australia bounced back strongly to revive their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 campaign with a convincing 275-run win over Afghanistan in their Pool A clash at the WACA, Perth, on Wednesday. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Full coverage)
Australia completely outclassed Afghanistan with an all-round performance with opener David Warner scoring career-best 178 in 133 balls. Invited to bat first, Australia posted a daunting total of 417 for six wickets in 50 overs. Warner put up a 260-run partnership with Steve Smith (95). And Glenn Maxwell’s onslaught (39-ball 88 runs) down the order powered Australia to the third 400-plus total of this year’s World Cup after South Africa posted the first two. In his belligerent knock, Warner smashed five maximums and 19 fours before being dismissed in the 38th over.
Chasing 417 was not easy, and Afghanistan never looked in the game as they lost wickets at regular intervals with Mitchell Johnson scalping four wickets for 22 runs. The Afghans loss is the biggest-ever margin of victory in terms of runs in World Cups, and the second-largest overall in One-Day Internationals. Courtesy this win, Australia are now placed third in the Pool A points table with five points while Afghanistan are at the sixth position.
Brief scores:
Australia 417 for 6 in 50 overs (David Warner 178, Steve Smith 95, Glenn Maxwell 88; Shapoor Zadran 2 for 89) bt Afghanistan 142 in 37.3 overs (Nawroz Mangal 33; Mitchell Johnson 4 for 22) – by 275 runs.
