Glenn Maxwell etched history as he smashed the record for the fastest-ever World Cup hundred in the history of the tournament. The Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi witnessed a stunning exhibition of power-hitting when Maxwell walked to the crease during the 24th match of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, where Australia were up against Netherlands. In an innings that was studded with eight sixes and nine boundaries, Maxwell reached his century in just 40 balls.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Australia had gotten off to a strong start. However, as the game progressed, the Dutch side staged a decent comeback, leaving Australia at 297 for 6 in the 43rd over. Maxwell came to bat when the score was 266/4 in 39 overs and did take some time to get going before unleashing his wide array of strokes.
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David Warner, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne other stars with the bat for Australia
With captain Pat Cummins at the other end, Maxwell initiated a breathtaking display of aggressive batting. This astonishing feat surpassed the previous record, held by Aiden Markram’s 49-ball century, by a significant nine-ball margin. Markram had also achieved the feat at the same venue earlier in the competition. Riding on Maxwell's 40-ball hundred (106 off 44) coupled with a century from David Warner (104 off 93), Australia smashed 399/8, giving the Dutch a stern target of 400 runs when they come out to bat.
Other than Maxwell and Warner, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne also completed their half-centuries with Smith making 71 off 68 and Labuschagne chipping in with 62 off 47. For the Dutch, Logan van Beek was the pick of the bowlers, scalping 4 wickets for 74 runs; Bas de Leede (2/115) and Aryan Dutt (1/59 off 7) were the other wicket-takers for the Men in Orange on Wednesday.