Mumbai, Nov 7: Battling pain and exhaustion, Glenn Maxwell conjured arguably the greatest knock (201 not out off 128 balls) in the history of limited overs cricket to singlehandedly propel Australia to a sensational three-wicket win over Afghanistan in the World Cup here on Tuesday.

With this, Australia became the third team to enter the semifinals.

Opting to bat, opener Ibrahim Zadran became the first Afghanistan batter to score a World Cup hundred and guided his team to 291 for five.

In reply, Australia were down and out at 91 for seven in the 19th over. That's when Maxwell decided to take charge and led an incredible comeback while adding 202 runs for the eighth wicket with skipper Pat Cummins (12 not out), who watched the mayhem unfolding from the other end.

In all, Maxwell smashed 21 boundaries and 10 sixes.

Earlier, Zadran carried his bat through the innings and finished on 129 not out off 143 balls.

Afghanistan lost opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a 25-ball 21 but Zadran and Rahmat Shah stitched 83 runs for the second wicket to lay a good foundation before the latter was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell for a 44-ball 30 in the 25th over with the score reading 121.

Unperturbed by the loss of few wickets at the other end, Zadran continued to accumulate runs at a decent rate to prop up his team against the five-time world champions.

Rashid Khan smashed unbeaten 35 off 18 balls towards the end.

Brief scores:

Afghanistan: 291/5 in 50 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 129 not out; Josh Hazlewood 2/39).

Australia: 293/7 in 46.5 overs (Glenn Maxwell 201 not out).

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Mangaluru: This year’s Karavali Utsava will commence on December 20, with a wide range of cultural, adventure, and tourism-focused programs planned across Mangaluru and other parts of the Dakshina Kannada district, Deputy Commissioner Darshan H.V. said.

He was speaking while presiding over a Karavali Utsava preparedness review meeting held at the District Commissioner’s office.

The main event will be held at the Karavali Utsava grounds in the city. In an effort to promote beach tourism, special programs will be organised at six beaches across the district, which include Panambur, Ullal, Someshwara, Sasihitlu, Tannirbhavi, and the Blue Flag Beach.

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Outlining the schedule, the Deputy Commissioner said adventure sports will be held at Sasihitlu Beach, while a wine, cheese, and cake festival will take place at the Tannirbhavi Blue Flag Beach.

A music festival and triathlon are planned at Tannirbhavi Beach. Football, volleyball and other sports events will be organised at Ullal Beach, cultural programs at Panambur Beach, and a music evening and yoga program at Someshwara Beach.

In addition, food festivals featuring a variety of local and regional cuisines will be held at all beaches. The Kala Parba program and a flower and floriculture exhibition will be organised at Kadri Park, while a film festival is also planned in Mangaluru city.

A football tournament will be held at Nehru Maidan on December 27 and 28, and special programs will be organised at Pilikula Nisargadhama. To attract tourists, helicopter joyrides have also been arranged, the Deputy Commissioner said.

The review meeting was attended by Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Narvade Vinayak Karbari, Mangaluru Deputy Divisional Officer Meenakshi Arya, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mithun H.N., Deputy Conservator of Forests Antony Mariappa, and other officials.