Glenn Maxwell stuns cricket world with 'insane' new slice of history for Australia

Glenn Maxwell is the toast of the cricket world again after smashing the joint-fastest hundred for an Australian batter to guide his side to a thrilling last-ball victory over India in the third T20 international. Maxwell's extraordinary century singlehandedly rescued the five-wicket win for Australia after India had recorded an imposing 3-222 after batting first at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Ruturaj Gaikwad's explosive unbeaten 123, coupled with combined with some wayward displays from Australia's second-string bowling attack had the home side in pole position to make it three consecutive wins. However, a stunning exhibition of hitting from Maxwell (104 not out off 48 balls) and an important contribution from captain Matthew Wade (28 not out) helped the Aussies pull off an unlikely victory to leave the series at 2-1.

'UNFIXABLE': Mark Taylor's warning for world cricket amid Aussie backlash

'SHOCKED': Josh Hazlewood announcement stuns cricket world

'VERY POOR': Sean Abbott cops backlash amid unwanted Aussie history

Maxwell is set to fly back home to Australia after his heroics in game three, joining World Cup teammates Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, Adam Zampa and Sean Abbott on the plane. It has been an incredible few weeks for the 35-year-old, who hit the fastest century in a World Cup with his 40-ball ton against the Netherlands, before smashing the highest-ever ODI score for an Aussie with a match-winning double ton (201no from 128 balls) against Afghanistan.

The man they call 'The Big Show' lived up to his nickname once again in India, adding another record to his astonishing batting resume by reaching his century off just 47 balls - equalling the record shared by Aaron Finch and Inglis for the fastest Aussie ton in a T20i. Maxwell's innings included another match-winning masterclass in the final over that sealed a miraculous win for the Aussies.

Maxwell smashed a six off Prasidh Krishna's third delivery of the final over, before belting three consecutive boundaries to snatch victory for the visitors and keep the series alive. The remarkable scenes left fans beside themselves as the cricket world took to social media to hail Maxwell's genius.

Matthew Wade in important batting cameo for Australia

Aussie skipper Wade also played a crucial role in laying a platform for Maxwell to win the contest after picking India spinner Axar Patel apart in the 19th over. With the Aussies still needing 43 runs for victory going into the penultimate over, Wade slogged a six and two boundaries off Patel to set up the grandstand finish.

"Wadey had to cash in on the left-arm spinner (Axar), which he did really well, and I was trying to take on the pace bowlers," Maxwell said after the game. "We thought if we could stay in the hunt until the last over we'd give ourselves a chance."We did really well to keep ourselves in the game until the final over."

Travis Head, Australia's World Cup final hero, made his first appearance of the series and swung freely for a boundary-laced 35 before being deceived by Avesh Khan's slow bouncer and top-edging his pull shot to Ravi Bishnoi. Following the departures of a slew of his teammates, Head now remains the only member of the World Cup squad still featuring in the T20 series in India.

Aaron Hardie (16) and Inglis (10) went cheaply while an out-of-sorts Stoinis (17) and David (first-ball duck) succumbed to India's spinners. But Maxwell, who earlier conceded 30 with the ball from India's final over - saved the day with a little help from his skipper.

For the home side, Gaikwad (123 not out) became the first Indian to score a T20 ton against Australia and his score was the second highest by an Indian in the format, behind Shubman Gill's 126no against New Zealand in February. With Australia's World Cup-winning first-choice quartet of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Zampa resting, the next-in-line attack was again treated with disdain.

The one exception for the Aussie bowling attack was Jason Behrendorff, whose 1-15 from his four overs included a rare maiden to Suryakumar Yadav. Kane Richardson and Hardie were inaccurate and legspinner Tanveer Sangha was far too short and punished accordingly. Hardie (1-64) equalled AJ Tye's unwanted record for the most runs conceded by an Australian in T20Is. The fourth match is at Raipur on Saturday (Sunday morning AEDT).