Shifting allegiance of an underdog-loving crowd

For official purposes, Australia were the home team. Their name appeared first in the fixture list. They were housed in the dressing room of the home team. But that was it. Nothing else was homely for the Australians.

The day was hot, with temperatures touching mid-30s. The crowd at Wankhede programmed to support the team in blue with a soft corner for a few special players in the opposition. At one point during the Australian innings, the announcer in the stadium asked for a cheer from those supporting Australia. She received a faint murmur. The crowd made its allegiance known when she received a proper loud cheer from those supporting Afghanistan.

Everyone loves an underdog. And Afghanistan have been an underdog worth cheering for in this World Cup. In the last four games before facing Australia, they had quadrupled the number of wins in their last two World Cups combined. By beating Australia, they would been a front-runner for the fourth spot on the table and grab an elusive place in the semi-finals.

Afghanistan began their innings with promise. But a few half-hearted shots saw them two down soon. Ibrahim Zadran and Hashmatullah Shahidi built on but maybe not at the pace required for the venue. Neither of them is built to be the aggressor anyway. Shahidi has a career strike rate of under 70. At no point during Zadran’s knock today his strike touched 80.

“Nobody’s got a 100 yet, so that's the next challenge” was what the Afghan coach Jonathan Trott wished for after his side won their fourth game after beating Sri Lanka. He also wanted an “in-batter” during the death. Both his wishes came true today. Zadran notched up the first-ever hundred for an Afghan batter in a World Cup. Although, he took 39 balls to score the 25 runs before the milestone. The crowd did not care. No other sport seeks milestones this desperately. Zadran received a standing ovation while he almost ran to the dugout to celebrate with his team.

“We have such strikers of the ball that if we can have an in-batter in the last 10, other teams cannot stop us”. With an “in-batter” having gotten to his century, Afghanistan piled 75 runs in the last six overs. Zadran himself scored 28 of 12 in this period. Together they ensured that Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have now gone for 11 sixes each in this World Cup. Most for any Australian bowler in a single edition.

The underdogs had a defendable total. The game was on. 

A day before their game versus Afghanistan, the sole focus of all Australian batters was practicing range hitting against spin. It made every sense as Afghanistan have four of the very best. 

Four Australian batters did not even get a chance to put their practice into action. Under lights, the Afghan pacers proved to be a handful. Naveen ul-Haq dismissing Travis Head received a loud cheer. So did him getting Mitchell Marsh a few balls later.

But perhaps the loudest cheer of the night until then was when an unlikely David turned a Goliath to get the actual David. Azmatullah Omarzai had displayed enough skills in the tournament for Afghanistan to finally give him a go inside the powerplay. He got David Warner to a rash shot. Josh Inglis fell the very next ball to a rasher shot. Glenn Maxwell survived the hat-trick ball by the barest of margins.

Australia were now flustered. There was a run-out, soon followed by a batter failing to review a decision that would have turned out to be in his favour. Australia were seven down. The game was done. The underdogs had won. At least, that is what the crowd thought.

Maybe that is what the Afghanistan team thought as well. For they offered Maxwell two lives. First, a straightforward chance was misjudged by two fielders running towards each other. Second, perhaps the worst drop of the competition. With barely any partner to move the innings along, Maxwell continued to counter-attack.

Waiting for Maxwell to make a mistake, Afghanistan stuck to their spin options. The right-hander treated each one of them with disdain. Every change of over was followed by a huddle. Every huddle was followed by either of the three specialist spinners continuing to bowl. Everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face. Maxwell smashed 67 off the 37 balls after his second drop, reaching his 10th ODI hundred in the process.

The all-rounder was that special one in the opposition for whom the Wankhede crowd developed a soft corner. They rose in unison to celebrate his ton. Maxwell, however, barely reacted.

The game was back on. Afghanistan still had 100 runs in the bag to defend. The crowd, silent for a while, suddenly woke up during the 38th over of the innings. They egged Naveen on, anticipating a change in plan to work in Afghanistan’s favour. Maxwell, however, hit him for two fours in his next over to leave the crowd confused.

Then came the final twist in the tale. The point when the allegiance changed. Having faced the most balls ever in an innings in his ODI career, Maxwell was already showing some signs of fatigue due to cramps. In the 41st over of the innings, he hit one down the ground. The ball went for four but Maxwell took to the floor, grimacing in pain and refusing to get up. 

The medical team sprinted on the field. Maxwell’s legs were massaged. But nothing seemed to work. The umpires were getting agitated. The game had to restart. There isn’t even a timed-out rule for such circumstances. 

Had Maxwell retired then, the game was over. Australia still needed around 60 runs. But Maxwell’s effort needed a closure. And the crowd knew it. It was Maxwell who was the underdog now. And yeah, everyone loves an underdog. With his efforts through pain, Maxwell made them change their allegiance for good.

For a crowd fed on rhythmic chants of Sachin, Sachin, the chants on Maxwell, Maxwell were like remixing their own tune to modern-day lyrics. The chants worked. Maxwell was up on his feet, ready to take strike. Ready to take this game to a closure. 

But Maxwell couldn't run. He not only had to do it all by himself, he had to do it strictly through boundaries. Adversities are the real test of character. In Maxwell’s case, they were the real test of his caliber. He is among the only two players along with AB de Villiers who possess the skill to play every shot possible. Freed up knowing that the option to rotate strike was not on, Maxwell shot every arrow in his quiver. The ones along the ground were in the gaps. The ones in the air were over the ropes. The crowd hardly got a chance to take their seat.

When boundaries became routine, a single that Maxwell took to retain strike for the 45th over received the loudest cheer. The first ball of the over was clubbed for a six. The game was over with four consecutive boundaries a few balls later. 

According to Cummins, “the crowd is usually on Maxi’s side whenever you play here.” They might have started on the other side tonight but Maxwell won them back while making them privileged to witness the greatest ODI knock of all-time.