Brilliant Warner takes Australia to record 417/6 vs Afghans

David Warner made mincemeat of an inexperienced Afghanistan bowling attack with a magnificent 178 as hosts Australia piled up a world record 417 for six in their pool A match of the ICC cricket World Cup here today.

Australia thus surpassed India's 413/5 to record the highest team total in a World Cup match.

Courtesy Warner's career-best 133-ball knock and an attractive 95 off 98 balls from Steven Smith, Australia piled up runs with ease as the duo stitched a record 260 runs for the second wicket partnership.

While Warner's fourth ODI hundred was studded with 19 boundaries and five sixes, Smith's innings had eight boundaries and a six.

The stage was then set for Glenn Maxwell to give the final flourish with a scintillating 88 off only 39 balls, joining the run feast by sending the ball flying into the stands with monotonic regularity. There were 14 sixes in all in the innings.

Maxwell hit six boundaries and seven sixes in his brief innings which was high on entertainment quotient.

After a disappointing batting show against New Zealand, the Australian team needed a 'run-tonic' and Warner, Smith and Maxwell provided the sizeable crowd exact entertainment needed.

Maxwell played some amazing reverse flicks along with old fashioned thwacks over extra cover and deep fine leg to completely deflate the Afghan attack.

While Warner muscled the deliveries from the pace trio of Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran and Hamid Hassan into gaps as well as into the stands, Maxwell hit the most amazing six off left-arm pacer Shapoor.

It was a full length delivery where Maxwell changed to reverse hit grip and played it over first slip for a six. Skipper Mohammed Nabi's friendly off-breaks were either dispatched over the ropes or past it as Maxwell completed his half-ton of only 21 balls with a effortless reverse hit off a full-toss.

While Warner got his boundaries during Powerplay overs, his 100 off 92 balls didn't have a single six but 11 fours. The big hits started from the 30th over when Warner launched into Dawlat hitting him for successive sixes over long-on off oridinary length deliveries.

When Shapoor made the same mistake, he met with same fate as the balls sailed over mid-on, square leg region. While Warner looked good for a double hundred, he was dismissed trying to hit Shapoor for his sixth over boundary only to offer a skier for Nabi.

Shapoor got his second wicket when he denied Smith what would have been a well-deserved century as he was holed out at mid-off.

Maxwell's mayhem also looked like fetching him his maiden three-figure mark in ODIs before he failed to pick up a slower and was caught at extra cover.

The two Zadrans -- Dawlat and Shapoor -- were the worst sufferers as the former went for 101 in 10 overs while latter was hit for as many 89.