World Cup 2015: Australia register a massive 275-run win against Afghanistan

Perth: As exhilarating as fairy-tale finishes are, they are an exception. Grim reality checks, with attendant heartache, are the norm in international sport. Afghanistan were at the receiving end of that harsh lesson at the WACA ground on Wednesday (March 4), mauled by an Australian side looking for someone to take its frustration out on.

One wicket. That was the margin by which Afghanistan squeaked by Scotland six days ago, for their maiden victory in their first appearance in the World Cup. It was the same margin by which Australia, scrambling and scrapping, went down to New Zealand in a battle of the co-hosts four days ago. Afghanistan came into this encounter on an unprecedented high, Australia desperate to find an outlet for their pent-up emotions.

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Comprehensively exposing the gulf between the teams with a ruthless display, Australia won as they pleased in front of a sizeable gathering. Thankful for Mohammad Nabi sticking them in as they set out in search of batting time ahead of Sunday’s game against Sri Lanka in Sydney, Australia racked up 417 for 6, the highest total in World Cup play. That tally came on the back of David Warner’s muscular strokeplay, Steve Smith’s polish and Glenn Maxwell’s unalloyed pyrotechnics. The bowlers then joined hands to fire Afghanistan out for 142 and set up a facile 275-run victory. It was both Australia’s biggest victory margin, and the biggest margin by runs in all World Cup action.

Afghanistan rode their luck early on against Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood with Javed Ahmadi and Usman Ghani, coming in for Gulbadin Naib, surviving six testing overs in getting to 30. But Mitchell Johnson arrived as first change in the seventh over to loud cheers from the crowd, and packed Ghani off with his third delivery. Ahmadi steered Hazlewood to second slip in the next over and Asghar Stanikzai, three strokes a ball, put Johnson up for Smith to run back from gully toward third man and cling on to a superb catch.

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Only Nawroz Mangal presented any poise in the middle. The man who idolises Sachin Tendulkar played two drives down the ground that would have made the master proud, then swung Mitchell Marsh for consecutive sixes as he and Samiullah Shenwari, Afghanistan’s most consistent batsman in the competition, strung together 48 for the fourth wicket. But both fell at the same score in the space of four deliveries; from 94 for 5, it was a question merely of how many more Afghanistan would get.

In the afternoon, Warner had threatened to become men’s One-Day International cricket’s fifth double-centurion before falling for a most spectacular 178, Smith looked on course to become the second centurion of the innings until he holed out for 95, and Maxwell thoroughly entertained the audience with the kind of manic ball-striking that he alone is capable of.

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Fours (36) and sixes (14) tumbled off Aussies willows with tremendous regularity, Afghanistan gradually wilting under the twin onslaughts of the sun and the bat. Their two lead bowlers, Dawlat and Shapoor Zadran, went for 101 and 89 respectively in their 10 overs – the two most expensive ODI spells ever for Afghanistan – and Nabi’s offspin yielded 84. It was mayhem in broad daylight, hopelessly one-way traffic as Australia toyed with the bowling.

For all that, Dawlat had begun pretty promisingly, though Shapoor got carried away by the bounce and bowled far too short, not learning from his new-ball partner who bowled fuller and got beautiful shape away from Aaron Finch. Dalwat rounded off an excellent second over by forcing Finch to edge a flat-footed drive at a lovely awayswinger that was well held low to his left at first slip by Mangal. Australia 14 for 1, enter Smith at No. 3 – Shane Watson was dropped to accommodate James Faulkner – and exit Afghanistan’s hopes. Once and for all.

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Smith was an almost invisible presence as Warner hogged the strike, and the limelight. Having teed off against Shapoor, Warner took to Dawlat and Hamid Hassan, whose drivable length was just about perfect for the batsman to drop-kick the ball well over the infield.

With the pacers ineffective, Nabi brought on his spinners, himself included, but with no turn for them and their lack of height not allowing them to extract any bounce worth the name, there was no respite. Warner completed his fourth ODI hundred in 92 deliveries, then upped the pace as 78 came off his last 41. Smith, meanwhile, bridged the gap between balls faced and runs scored with a series of boundaries off Shenwari.

Their partnership had burgeoned to an Australian record 260 with Warner four hits away from Club 200 when Shapoor eventually broke through, Nabi circling around a giant skier at midwicket and holding on to an excellent catch. Shapoor hadn’t taken kindly to being taken apart by Warner, engaging in a few staring contests, but he was the first to run up to Warner to congratulate him on a bruising effort.

Smith was overshadowed for the second time in as many stands when Maxwell arrived in a frenzy of strokeplay. It was here at the WACA, a little over a month back, that the pesky right-hand batsman regained form in the tri-series final against England. That was a restrained innings, in deference to the match situation; here, with the license to pummel away, Maxwell sent Afghanistan on a hiding to nothing.

The reverse hits were both audacious and awe-inspiring, the driving down the ground and over the ropes mesmeric. Fielders on the boundary were reduced to mere spectators as the ball disappeared way over their heads into the crowds, Maxwell making the most of what he seemed to consider an open net session.

Smith had been dismissed for 95, giving Shapoor a second wicket of the day, but Maxwell stayed on course for his maiden – and the World Cup’s fastest – hundred until Dawlat foxed him with a back-of-the-hand slower one that was smartly held by Nabi at cover. By then, he had clattered along to 88 off 39, and Afghanistan had been driven to their knees. They had conceded 118 in the last 10 overs and sent India’s 413 for 5 in 2007 against Bermuda into World Cup oblivion. Only the formalities remained after that carnage.