World Cup: Shahid Afridi wants Iftikhar Ahmed to play like Glenn Maxwell vs South Africa | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Glenn Maxwell smashed the fastest hundred in the history of the ODI World Cup as Australia pummelled the Netherlands by a record 309 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday.
Impressed by Maxwell’s power-hitting show that gave Australia a third win on the trot, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi hailed the Australian swashbuckling allrounder.

Afridi also said he is expecting Pakistan’s star batsman Iftikhar Ahmed to play a Maxwell-like innings when the Green Shirts face South Africa in their must-win and crucial encounter against South Africa on Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

After Maxwell handed Australia a record 309-run win, Afridi took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: “What an innings by Glenn Maxwell today, its a showcase of top class power hitting, well-deserved win for Australia.”
“I expect Iftikhar Ahmad to play a similar role for our team, he definitely has the capability to do so and the pitches are curated for power hitting, we all need you to fire up now,” he further wrote.

Maxwell produced a blistering 106 off 44 balls and opener David Warner made 104 as Australia racked up 399-8 after electing to bat.
The five-time champions then returned to bundle out their opponents for 90 in 21 overs, subjecting the Dutch to the biggest defeat in the tournament’s history.
Pakistan are fifth in the points table with 2 wins and 3 defeats in 5 matches. They have four points to their name.