Williamson lauds Maxwell's 'incredibly special' innings

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on Wednesday praised "an incredibly special knock" by Australia's Glenn Maxwell which took his team into the World Cup semifinals.

Maxwell played through pain including cramps and back spasms to hit an unbeaten 201 as Australia chased down their victory target of 292 after tottering at 91-7.

Maxwell put on 202 for the eighth wicket with skipper Pat Cummins, who made just 12, to leave Afghanistan in shock in Mumbai on Tuesday.

"An incredibly special knock," Williamson told reporters on the eve of their match against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on Thursday.

"Not just the runs specifically but the situation. He was clearly struggling physically and to be able to pull that off and in a partnership with Pat Cummins is without a doubt one of the great World Cup victories for Australia and probably for any team to witness."

Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran struck an unbeaten 129 to become the first player from his country to hit a World Cup century in his team's 291-5.

The bowlers then had Australia on the ropes before Maxwell single-handedly took the match away from the Afghans.

"At the same time, a tough one for Afghanistan. They've been excellent and probably won sort of 80-90 per cent of that game," said Williamson.

"As we know in white ball cricket, it can change quickly. And that was an amazing example of that and a special knock to watch."

New Zealand are locked in a three-way battle with Pakistan and Afghanistan for the last remaining place in the semifinals.

They are currently fourth in the table behind already qualified India, South Africa and Australia.