Australia allrounder shows all of his skills in fastest World Cup fifty by an Australian
Maxwell thrills fans with record fifty
Glenn Maxwell has smashed the fastest World Cup fifty by an Australian and the equal third-fastest in tournament history with a stunning boundary barrage against Afghanistan in Perth.
Related: Australia v Afghanistan match recap
Maxwell finished with 88 from just 39 balls, including six fours and seven sixes, as he pushed Australia towards a World Cup record total of 6-417.
He brought up his half-century from just 21 balls with an audacious reverse sweep that rolled into the third-man boundary.
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Maxwell's 21-ball effort is three short of the World Cup record of 18 balls set by New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum against England earlier in this tournament.
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It is the fourth-fastest half-century by an Australian in one-day internationals Maxwell co-owns the record of 18 balls with another Victorian allrounder, Simon O'Donnell.
Another Bushranger, David Hussey, is third on the Australian list with his 19-ball 50 against West Indies in 2008.
South Africa's AB de Villiers (16 balls) holds the world ODI record for the fastest fifty.
Related: David Warner breaks Australian record
Coming to the wicket with Australia 2-274 in the 38th over, Maxwell got off the mark in typical style - with a reverse sweep for four - and quickly got into his work.
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He hit consecutive sixes off Mohammad Nabi in the 41st over and even reverse swept opening bowler Shapoor Zadran for six, an audacious stroke that only a handful of players in the world would dare attempt, let alone pull off.
But the highlight was probably a remarkable clip off his pads for six off Shapoor, with Maxwell keeping his entire body still and powerfully flicking the left-armer over square-leg fence with nothing more than a swing of his forearms.
The innings brought Maxwell's career ODI strike-rate to 121.87, the highest ever amongst players to have scored an minimum of 1,000 runs.
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His innings came after David Warner had broken an Australian World Cup record of his own, his innings of 178 surpassing Matthew Hayden's mark of 158 set against West Indies in 2007 (watch highlights below).