3 big concerns for Australia despite freak win over Afghanistan

Australia pulled off a miraculous victory in their World Cup game against Afghanistan and became the 3rd team to qualify for the semi-final. Chasing a tricky target of 292, the Aussies were reduced to 91/7 and an embarrassing defeat was looking large.

However, what transpired in the last 25 overs of the run chase was nothing short of a fairytale. Mad Max went dispatched the Afghanistan bowling to all corners of the Wankhede Stadium. He led a charmed life early on but once he realised it was his day, there was no stopping Maxwell.

Mujeeb-ur-Rahman dropped a sitter at short fine leg while a close LBW call went in favor of Maxwell which was an indication that the stars were aligning for him. It was a display of sheer determination and brute force as Maxwell battled cramps to eventually take his side over the finish line.

Maxwell kept struggling in the final phase of his innings and almost batted on one leg. It was just hand-eye coordination as Maxwell found a way to dispatch the Afghan bowlers despite not moving an inch. It was poor bowling from Afghanistan as they kept bowling in his areas.

It was sheer carnage from Maxwell towards the end as he smashed Mujeeb for three sixes and a four to hand Australia a famous victory. Despite the win, the Aussies have a lot to ponder on before their knockout clash against South Africa.

That said, let us now decipher 3 big concerns for Australia despite a freakish win against Afghanistan:

# 1 Inability to play quality seam bowling

The Australian top order and the middle order were blown away by Naveen-ul-Haq and Azmatullah Omarzai as they struggled against the moving ball. Naveen nicked off Travis Head with a genuine away swinger before trapping Mitchell Marsh with a delivery that jagged back in sharply.

David Warner was challenged by Omarzai with one seaming back in after pitching and eventually was castled by a similar delivery. Even Josh Inglis poked at an away-swinging delivery first ball and ended up nicking it straight to the slip cordon.

While the top order has scored runs freely during the daytime, the exaggerated movement under lights could pose a stern challenge for them in the semi-final. The South African pacers will be up for the battle and take a leaf out of the Afghan new ball bowlers.

# 2 Australia has a tendency to collapse in the middle overs

Not just against Afghanistan but this has been a similar tale of the Aussies in the last few months. After three big collapses during the ODI series against the Proteas, they started the World Cup with another similar showing against India.

While Maxwell's power-hitting fest did win it for Australia against the Afghans, these things won't happen regularly. The Australian middle order departed cheaply but even the likes of Stoinis and Maxwell weren't really prepared to bid their time in the middle.

Maxwell was dropped a couple of times while Stoinis was dismissed while attempting the reverse sweep. What the Australian team management would be wanting is more application from them in crucial junctures of the game.

# Lack of wicket-taking abilities in the middle overs

While Adam Zampa has been one of the leading wicket-takers in the tournament, he has leaked runs on a few occasions. He failed to make a breakthrough in the middle overs against Afghanistan.

Taking nothing away from the Afghan batting line-up, the South Africans have some lethal strikers of the ball and the Aussies could be in trouble if they don't take wickets in the middle overs.

Mitchell Starc has been on and off while Cummins hasn't looked the wicket-taking option. The likes of Josh Hazlewood have started very well but hasn't quite managed to get consistent wickets in the middle overs.