Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 64 runs in a Pool A match of the ICC World Cup in Sydney on Sunday.
Opting to bat, Australia posted a mammoth 376 for nine against a hapless Sri Lanka side, before the islanders' innings ended at 312 in 46.2 overs.
- The World Cup, as never before on Rediff.com
The Aussies, left rattled by a one-wicket loss to New Zealand in their previous match, came out all guns blazing and even though explosive opener David Warner (9) was out early, the hosts simply decimated the Sri Lankan bowling attack.
The win helped the co-hosts to move up to second in the pool.
Maxwell led a brutal Australian assault with his maiden ODI hundred as the four-time champions posted a mammoth 376 for nine.
The 26-year-old got to the three-figure mark in just 51 balls, just one short of the World Cup record held by Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, an innings where he whacked 10 fours and four sixes.
Besides Maxwell's swashbuckling 53-ball 102, which was the second fastest World Cup hundred, the Australian scorecard was studded with three fluent half-centuries in a formidable middle-order batting performance.
Skipper Michael Clarke (68), Steve Smith (72) and Shane Watson (67) showed rampaging form during the course of their fifties as Australia sent the Lankans on a leather hunt in front of a packed house.
Maxwell shared a 160-run fifth-wicket stand with fellow all-rounder Watson, a partnership that literally took the game away from Sri Lanka.
Chasing an improbable target, Kumar Sangakkara tried to make a match of it, notching up his 24th ODI ton during an innings that saw him complete 14,000 runs in this format, only the second player after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the milestone.
After the veteran Sangakkara's dismissal, Dinesh Chandimal kept Sri Lanka alive with a swashbuckling 24-ball 52, but the islanders were rocked after the batsman was forced to retire hurt at a crucial juncture due to a hamstring injury.
In fact Sri Lanka were served well by Sangakkara's 24th ODI century, Tillakaratne Dilshan (62) and Chandimal. Sangakkara hit 11 boundaries while Chandimal struck eight fours and a six.
But in the end their efforts proved to be much less than what was required, with the asking rate heading north with each delivery.
James Faulkner emerged as the most successful bowler from the Australian side, returning impressive figures of three for 48, while there were two wickets apiece for Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson, who made a comeback after being hit for six boundaries in an over by Dilshan at the start of Lankan
innings.
Chandimal retired hurt at the start of the 42nd over affected the Lankans' momentum and they failed to recover from that blow, losing skipper Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera in quick succession.
When Chandimal walked out, Sri Lanka were 280 for four with the game seemingly heading towards a close finish. But the Australians capitalised by taking a couple of quick wickets to shut the door on the opposition.