T20 WC: Maxwell's gritty fifty propels Australia to 168/8 against Afghanistan

Adelaide [Australia], November 4 (ANI): Glenn Maxwell's half-century propelled Australia to 168/8 against Afghanistan at the Adelaide Oval in the Super-12 encounter in the Ongoing T20 World Cup.
Mitchell Marsh and Maxwell played handy knocks for the team to take Australia to a par score after losing wickets at a regular level.
After being put into bat first, Australia started fiercely with opener David Warner firing on all cylinders from the start of the inning. Warner smashed three boundaries in the second over to bag 16 runs off the second over.
However, his opening batter Cameron Green could not replicate Warner's success and walked back to the pavilion after getting dismissed for 3(2) in the third over.
Mitchell Marsh walked in at number three with great responsibility on his shoulders in the absence of Aaron Finch.
Warner kept scoring boundaries for the Aussie team to keep the scoring rate at a decent pace and Australia looked on course to a great powerplay but Naveen-ul-Haq bowled a superb last powerplay over to dismiss Warner and Steve Smith to reduce Australia to 54/3 at the end of the six overs.
Marsh looked to place the ball in gaps before exploding in the ninth over to smash Gulbadin Naib for 16 runs with the help of a six and two boundaries.
Australia reached the 10-over mark at 85/3 with Marsh and Marcus Stoinis at the crease.
Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed Marsh in the 11th over to bring out Glenn Maxwell on the crease.
Maxwell went after the Afghan bowlers right from the start to help Australia up its run rate. Stoinis on the other hand was struggling to get going and was dismissed by Rashid Khan for 25(21) in the 16th over.
Despite the fall of wickets Maxwell continued playing the big shots and notched up his half-century off 29 deliveries.
He helped Australia get to 168/8 at the end of the 20 overs. The batter remained unbeaten and carried his bat through the inning.
Naveen-ul-Haq was the pick of the bowlers picking up three wickets while giving away just 21 runs.
Brief Score: Australia 168/8 (Glenn Maxwell 54*, Mitchell Marsh 45; Naveen-ul-Haq 3-21) vs Afghanistan (ANI)