Maxwell, Warner set up Australia's record 309-run win over the Netherlands
New Delhi (PTI): Glenn Maxwell waltzed his way to the fastest World Cup century after David Warner hit his second successive hundred as Australia crushed the Netherlands by 309 runs -- the biggest in tournament history -- to continue their winning run here on Wednesday.
The winning run margin was also the second biggest in ODI cricket after India's 317-run victory over Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Australia bettered their own 275-run win over Afghanistan in the 2015 World Cup at home to notch up the biggest run-margin win in the showpiece's history.
After opener Warner laid the foundation with a 92-ball 104, Maxwell went on a six-hitting spree, hammering 106 off 44 balls, as Australia displayed their batting might to amass a mammoth 399 for 8 after opting to bat.
Steve Smith (71) and Marnus Labuschagne (62) also returned to form with resolute fifties but it was Maxwell who stole the show in the end.
Maxwell reached the hundred in 40 balls to surpass South African Aiden Markram's 49-ball ton which also came at the same venue during this World Cup against Sri Lanka. He hit nine fours and eight sixes during his stunning innings, which was also the fourth fastest hundred in ODI cricket.
With a mountain to climb, the Netherlands folded for 90 in 21 overs with Vikramjit Singh top-scoring with a run-a-ball 25 at the top.
It was Australia's third win on the trot, consolidating their position in the top four with six points with New Zealand and England in line in their next matches.
For the Netherlands, it was their fourth loss, leaving them at the bottom position in the 10-team event.
Warner, who captains the Delhi Capitals in IPL, used his cut shot to good use and was also quick between the wickets as his innings was studded with 11 hits to the fence and three maximums.
He was involved in two big partnerships -- 132 with Smith and 84 with Labuschagne -- as Australia kept a steady run rate, keeping it above six run per over throughout the innings.
The Dutch might have nurtured hopes of a fight back briefly as Australia lost three wickets in 19 balls to slip from 244 for 2 to 267 for 5 but Maxwell forged a 103-run stand off 43 balls with Pat Cummins (12 not out) to take Australia just one run short of 400.
Maxwell's blitzkrieg saw Australia accumulate 131 in the last 10 overs as he used his array of shots, including the reverse sweeps and switch-hits, to completely shatter the Dutch bowling.
The spin all-rounder raced to fifty in 26 balls before completing his hundred in the next 13 deliveries as the 48th and 49th overs produced 21 runs and 28 runs respectively.
His carnage left Dutch all-rounder Bas de Leede scarred as he ended up conceding 115 runs to go with his two wickets in his quota of 10 overs, the most expensive ODI spell in history.
Logan van Beek (4/74) was the highest wicket-taker for the Netherlands.
Chasing 400, the Netherlands races to 27 in the three overs before Mitchell Starc cleaned up Max ODowd for his 56th wicket in ODI World Cups, levelling Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga in joint third position.
Maxwell then produced a direct hit to remove Vikramjit Singh, while Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins also chipped in as wickets kept tumbling too quickly.
An air-borne Warner got rid of Sybrand Engelbrecht with a stunning catch off Mitchell Marsh, who also accounted for Teja Nidamanuru. Adam Zampa then picked up his third successive four-wicket haul.
Earlier, in a bold decision, the Netherlands introduced twin spin attack but Warner took Aryan Dutt to the cleaners with four successive fours on the off side.
Logan van Beek struck the first blow with a short ball to get rid of Mitchell Marsh (9) but Smith, who has been struggling so far, stepped up. He pulled and drove Paul van Meekeren for two fours before picking three successive boundaries off van Beek as Australia scored 66 for one in first powerplay.
After surviving a run-out chance, Warner clobbered the first six of the innings over deep midwicket. He then deposited Vikramjit over long on to bring up the team hundred and reached his fifty with a four next, before hitting another boundary.
Smith too picked up his first fifty as 124 came up in 20 overs.
Warner got another life when Roelof van der Merwe grassed a catch. Aryan finally broke the stand with van der Merwe holding on this time to dismiss Smith. It put a break on the Australian as 22 runs came from 23rd to 28th overs.
Labuschagne kept Australia ticking, with his innings of seven fours and two sixes. He was dismissed by de Leede, who also got rid of Josh Inglis (14).
After Warner was holed out to Aryan off van Beek after completing his century and Cameron Green was run out next, it seemed the Dutchmen will drag back the Australians.
But Maxwell had other ideas as he sent the Dutchmen on a leather hunt with a sensational blitzkrieg.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
