'This has to be one of the greatest shots in cricket': Sunil Gavaskar amazed by 'unbelievable shot'

Australia faced the Netherlands on Wednesday, October 26, 2023, at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. The Pat Cummins led side showed no mercy to the Dutch team and won the match by 309 runs. Firstly, the match witnessed Australia winning the toss and opting to bat, and they went on to score 399/8 in 50 overs. Despite trying their best, the Netherlands fell short, and by the 21st over, they were all out at 90.

3 things you need to know 

• Australia beat the Netherlands by 309 runs 
• Australia made 399 runs at a loss of 8 wickets 
• The Netherlands failed badly after being all out at 90 

Also Read: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma & Co. reach Lucknow

Australia vs Netherlands: Gavaskar changes his mind after Glenn Maxwell's century 

In a surprising change of events, Glenn Maxwell converted Sunil Gavaskar's scathing criticism into copious praise very quickly. Shortly before Australia and the Netherlands' World Cup 2023 match in Delhi got underway, Gavaskar harshly criticised Maxwell for his dismal performance in the competition at a pre-match show on Star Sports. Specifically, Gavaskar objected to Maxwell's selection of strokes when playing Pakistan. The Australian all-rounder's direct criticism led to his sudden removal on the opening delivery, when he attempted an outrageous slog against Shaheen Shah Afridi.

“It's a matter of ego. I think he was happy at RCB when he was given the No.3 slot. He felt he was important, he needed to make a contribution every match. Here he is batting at 5, 6, and 7. In cricket, there is a thin line between carefree and careless. He has been on the careless side (in this World Cup) more. That first-ball dismissal against Pakistan, what kind of a shot was that? So clearly, (he was) careless and not carefree,”

Maxwell made history by being the World Cup's fastest century-hitter in just 40 deliveries. This was also the quickest century in ODIs by an Australian player. In addition, Maxwell made history by being the first Australian to hit more than 100 runs in an ODI's last ten overs. With eight massive sixes in his innings, he tied Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting for the second most by an Australian in a World Cup game. In addition, he and Pat Cummins' partnership of 107 runs for the seventh wicket created a new World Cup record for Australia.

Also Read: List of records broken during AUS vs NED game

Gavaskar praised Maxwell 

Even Gavaskar had to completely reassess his evaluation due to Maxwell's enduring effect from his batting skills. Gavaskar was all over Maxwell's deft utilization of switch hits and reverse sweeps after the game. He said:

“This has to be one of the greatest shots in cricket. It's an amazing shot. It went for a six. He should actually get 12 for this shot. This is an unbelievable shot. Yes, after a couple of sixes, the bowling was a bit ragged. They just didn't know where to bowl. They tried slower ones, they tried bowling around the midriff. It was incredible bating. I mean, I took 40 balls to get off the mark and he scored a century.”

Maxwell finished his incredible innings with a stunning 106 off just 44 balls, leading Australia to a threatening 399/8. In reply, Australia secured a historic World Cup victory by an incredible margin of 309 runs, while the Netherlands collapsed, achieving just 90 runs.