Australia break records en route crushing World Cup win
Warner scores career-best 178, Maxwell smashes 88 off just 39 balls as Afghanistan hammered by 275 runs.
David Warner posted a career-high 178 and Mitchell Johnson took four wickets as four-time champions Australia set World Cup records with its innings total and 275-run winning margin in a ruthless victory over tournament newcomers Afghanistan.
Coming off a one-wicket loss to New Zealand and with a match against 1996 champion Sri Lanka in Sydney on Sunday, the Australians were always going to use the match at the WACA ground in Perth as a chance to regain momentum.
Warner and Steve Smith (95) shared a record second-wicket stand of 260 runs off just 209 balls to set Australia on course for its mammoth 417-6, surpassing India’s 413-5 against Bermuda in 2007 as the highest total ever at a World Cup.
Afghanistan was dismissed for 142 in 37.3 overs in reply, with Johnson snaring 4-22 on his home turf.
It was the biggest World Cup win in terms of runs, surpassing India’s 257-run victory over Bermuda at Trinidad in 2007, and South Africa’s win over West Indies in Canberra last week for the biggest winning margin in tournament history.
It was the seventh-highest innings total ever in an ODI, and Australia’s second-best of all time after its 434 in a loss to South Africa in 2006.
Scorecard:
Australia 417-6 in 50 overs (Warner 178, Shapoor 2-89)
Afghanistan 142 all out in 37.2 overs (Mangal 33, Johnson 4-22)