A history-making century from Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran has left Australia needing a record run chase to seal their place in a World Cup semifinal.
Afghanistan had never had a World Cup centurion, but a sensational unbeaten 129 formed the backbone of a methodical 5-291 as Australia toiled hard in the vicious Mumbai heat.
It was an old-fashioned innings from a determined Afghanistan as they stuck to their plan, playing it safe through the middle overs before exploding at the end to post their biggest World Cup total.
It means Australia must complete the highest successful run chase at the Wankhede Stadium.
After a solid start, Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave the Aussies their first wicket late in the Power Play, guiding a Josh Hazlewood delivery down deep square leg’s throat for 21.
Zadran took the wicket in stride, controlling the Aussie quicks to a classy half century, including a bold ramp to the boundary over the wicketkeeper’s head against Pat Cummins.
He and Rahmat Shah had Australia sweating as they combined for an 83-run partnership, but Cummins found the breaks through his all-rounders.
Shah tried to up the ante against Glenn Maxwell but could only find Hazlewood in the deep, devastated as his innings ended on 30.
The wicket ramped up the pressure on Afghanistan as Cummins turned to his strike bowlers to try and tear into the batting line-up.
However, Ibrahim held firm, utilising the gaps as Afghanistan had still lost just two wickets at the 37-over mark.
Mitchell Starc’s first, a searing yorker that clattered into Hashmatullah Shahidi’s middle stump, brought Azmatullah Omarzai to the wicket.
And he made his presence known, smoking Starc for a maximum over square mid-off to get off the mark before attacking Cummins through the leg side.
He then took Adam Zampa downtown for six to bring up the 200 for Afghanistan.
The leg spinner had the last laugh in the next over as Azmatullah found mid-off on 22, attempting to repeat the dose.
Ibrahim looked nervous as he closed to within a shot of his century and nearly threw it all away with a kamikaze single, but the throw missed, and the 21-year-old etched his name into the history books.
Rashid Khan’s entrance whipped the crowd into a frenzy, and he responded with a series of powerful blows.
Afghanistan’s perfectly timed innings reached a crescendo in an electrifying final two overs as Ibrahim and Khan entertained the crowd, including with an amazing crouched swat-pull maximum.
