The game of cricket has witnessed some of the greatest knocks in during its existence. Sandstorm innings by Sachin Tendulkar in 1998, Vivian Richards knock of 189 in 1984, Ben Stokes' century at Headingley in 2019, Virat Kohli's mesmerizing knock against Pakistan at MCG in 2022 world cup are some of the knocks which will go on to live in the hearts of cricket fans forever. However, if importance of the match, pressure at the point and the situation of the team as a whole are the factors considered, the two knocks which outplay the others is the Kapil Dev's magical knock of 175 in 1983 world cup, and Glenn Maxwell's phenomenal unbeaten knock of 201 which happened yesterday. And out of the two, the latter wins the battle considering all the hardships face and the fact that the team was chasing the total.

Yesterday, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai witnessed the greatest knock to have ever witnessed by the gentlemen's game in ODIs. An outrageous innings of 201 runs, while chasing 292 in itself shows what kind of impact Maxwell had on the outcome of the match. With 7 wickets down for just 91 runs, and a required run rate of around 8, anyone thinking that Australia can still win would've been laughed off. But eventually, it was Maxwell who had the last laugh, as he single handedly won the encounter, which will be remembered forever by the cricket fans globally.

While most of the world was happy congratulating Glenn and his team Australia, there was a section of fans who said that they did not expect anyone like Maxwell to play such an outrageous knock.However, considering all the factors of the match which happened yesterday, only and only Maxwell could've pulled such a masterclass. Out of all the currently active players, and probably amongst all the players who have played the game, none of them could've played a knock like that. If there was any possibility of anyone who could've done it, it is exactly the man who did it, Glenn Maxwell. Now since this statement might surprise a few, let's elaborate on why only Maxwell could do such a miraculous thing, and not the others.

To know it all, let's first discuss what all happened. Maxwell came to the crease with Australia reeling back at 49/4. And in some time, the team struggled even more as a few other wickets fell including the prized wicket of Labuschagne. With Australia in deep trouble at 91/7, the win looked impossible. And if it was any other team, they would've given up, but not Australia. Known for their fighting spirit, it was evident that Maxwell would fightback. And he was very well complemented by skipper Cummins, who held the crease from one end ensuring that no other wicket is lost.

While holding one end of the crease, he gave the strike back to Maxwell, who thrashed the Afghan bowlers to match the asking rate. It was all going well, until Maxwell had issues with his hamstring. He started to limp when he was in his 90s. He was in pain, but he knew that he was the last recognised batter. Hence he stood up, and started to hit the ball without any footwork. The shellshocked cricketing fraternity was witnessing long sixes and sweet boundaries from a limping batter, without any footwork for the very first time. In process, Maxwell was troubled by his back, but he continued his resistance with zero footwork. And continuing this, he snatched the victory from the jaws of Afghanistan, and scored a mammoth 110 runs post his injury, most of them in boundaries without using his feet, and reached to his double century thereby taking his team to the finishing line.

Now if one closely looks and analyses his batting, one can understand that the strength of Maxwell's batting lies in his strong iron wrists, great speed of the bat and his sublime hand-eye-coordination. A result of all of these is the quick and efficient shifting of gears which he does. It allows him to turn the situation of any match with a much greater asking rate, to be finished with a significant balls still remaining. In the history of cricket there have been some players who have done it, and who could've done it again. However, almost all of these players would've faltered massively after they were injured and limping. But Maxwell didn't. To have a closer look at it, let's discuss players having the above mentioned strengths below.

For instance, Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle are players with excellent hand-eye-coordination. And they play their natural game much more freely hitting long boundaries without much footwork. But both of them are openers, and haven't faced any crucial pressure situation like these with 7 wickets down for 91 runs, and 200 runs still needed with just 25 overs remaining. Moreover, on occasions where they have been left stranded in such pressure situations, they have not performed up to the mark. And there are several other examples of players like these meeting the same fate under heavily pressurized conditions like the one which Maxwell faced yesterday.

To speak about his second strength, iron wrists, one can argue that Virat Kohli boasts of it too. And undoubtedly so, Virat boasts of a very strong bottom handed, and quick wristwork which is often reflected in some of the most beautiful flick shots. Moreover, he is a master of handling pressure and is instrumental in chases on numerous occasions. He is a proven match winner. And he surely could've done it, only if he was not injured. If injured, however, he would've crumbled too. Because Virat's success is heavily dependent on his footwork. His quick footwork is the reason why he enjoys good battles with greatest bowlers. And if asked to bat standing still, without any footwork, he will not be lethal at all. And Maxwell did it, he used his iron wrists with great hand-eye-coordination to hit long sixes without moving an inch.

And lastly, to speak about Maxwell's bat swing, one can see many players who boast of it as well. For instance, the likes of Hardik Pandya have a God gifted bat swing. He can also handle pressure situations. He can hit standing sixes just like Maxwell does against spinners. However, when it comes to pacers, his iron wrists would fail against the seaming ball coming at greater speeds. Also, he is not known to play long innings. He plays rash shots at times, to get dismissed. And all of this was avoided by Maxwell yesterday. It's because Maxwell doesn't anticipate length, he is quick enough to see where the ball falls and still can land it into the stands, and he is the only batter who can do so, and has done it back in 2013 in Bangalore when Australia toured India.

So basically, the only combination of a great hand-eye-coordination, strong iron wrists and excellent bat swing is Glenn Maxwell. And if all of these aren't enough, he is an Australian. He has the genes of Australia which never allows him to give up, even if the task looks impossible. And a cumulative effect of all these together factors make a lethal player like no other on this planet. A rare player of his calibre and strengths, he was bound to play one of the rare innings. And when he did, he created history by playing the rarest form of innings which would be termed a greatest of all time.

Shattering a lot of records, he became the only player to have scored a double hundred while chasing. He is also the only non-opener to have achieved this feat. It's often said that probability of anyone scoring double hundred in ODIs lie with the top order batters. And proving them completely wrong, a number 6 batter surprised the world, leaving all of them in awe. The innings have got the legends of the game talking and admiring the player Glenn Maxwell is. And he truly deserves all of it, as he played a gem of an innings, which no one else could ever have pulled of, and no one probably will do in future. This innings will forever be remembered as the example of bravery, grit, determination and endless fighting spirit which can do wonders. We congratulate Maxwell for this superhuman achievement.