Fandom at its finest

Mohan Deshmukh is an avid Glenn Maxwell fan who always had his loyalties divided when Royal Challengers Bangalore played against his favourite Mumbai Indians in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). But Tuesday was a day to remember as he was delirious with joy watching his hero swat deliveries across the line to and over the boundary.

"I can't put it into words. My excitement levels are sky-high right now. Maxie is such a pleasure to watch. His innings tonight gave me butterflies. I have never enjoyed a cricket match this much before. The audience cheering ‘Maxie, Maxie' gave me goosebumps," Mohan, bubbling over with excitement, told Mid-Day.

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His brothers Ayaan and Gaurav, also Maxwell fans, broke into bhangra as a crowd of cheering onlookers clapped in joy. "This was a long wait. The wait was worth it. I knew I might not get time off work, so I called in sick to join my brothers," said Gaurav.

Fans watch from the stands during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between Afghanistan and Australia

The childlike enthusiasm of an ‘achievement' was, in fact, infectious as one walked around the Wankhede circumference trying to gauge the mood of the fans. Some danced, while others posed for selfies and pictures with anyone who asked for them, including many of the volunteers donning red and pink jerseys and security personnel in the stadium who seemed thrilled by the boisterous mood in the aftermath of the contest.

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Mohan, the eldest of three, said it was his life's most ‘nerve-wracking' match. "I'm just relieved they (Australia) won," he said. "In the last few minutes, I thought I was going to have a heart attack (laughs)." He added that Australia's chances of winning the World Cup looked ‘really good'.

Much like other Australian fans, the Deshmukh brothers, however, were consumed with guilt for switching allegiance to other teams when the Pat Cummins-led side, exactly two weeks ago, suffered consecutive losses at the start of the World Cup for the first time since 1992. Looking for an elusive win that would lift the sagging morale of the battle-weary side, Australia's rise since then has been like the proverbial Phoenix. "That's why we love this team," Mohan signed off.

Australia closed out a deliciously tense victory to become the third team to qualify for World Cup knockouts. Inserted by the menacing Rashid Khan, they were in a spot of bother at 91 for seven when Maxwell strolled to the middle. His stand-and-deliver approach set the tone as the lanky all-rounder careened to a 128-ball 201 (21x4, 10x6) and pulled off a single-handed miracle with 19 balls to spare.

"I want to be like him. He was just fantastic," a visibly excited Arpan Mishra told his father, while occasionally using his hands to wipe away sweat on his face as they headed for the exit. For the 12-year-old Arpan, final exams are not nearly as important as the World Cup. "What will I do with just a bat, I'll need pads too to be like him," he reasoned with his father on being denied a pair of pads. His happiness knew no bounds when a hooked six off Azmatullah Omarzai made its way to the Sachin Tendulkar stand, passing right by him.

Alongside Maxwell's brutal brilliance and the early signs of his big-game temperament, there were numerous moments to remember: Rashid taking down the Aussies with both bat and ball, three glarings dropped catches off the bowling of both Rashid and Naveen and Ibrahim Zadran's ‘slow but steady' unbeaten hundred.

"We were supposed to leave by nine tonight. We have a flight in four hours, but the kid won't budge a bit. (laughs) He is a big fan of this team. This knock (Maxwell's) was all the more special as it happened on his birthday. Now he just can't stop talking about it. I have to get him the pads for sure," Ravi, Arpan's father, remarked. "I love that Papa gets so engrossed in cricket during big tournaments that he sometimes forgets to check my homework. I also get to stay up late if I don't have school the next day," Arpan said with a gleam in his eye.