The ICC World Cup 2023 finally got the kickstart it wanted as New Zealand registered a sweet win over the defending champions, England, in the first match of the quadrennial tournament. New Zealand hammered England one-sidedly and have avenged their loss, which they faced in the 2019 World Cup Final against the same opponents. Kiwi batters Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway played a special knock at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Indian-origin Rachin Ravindra was awarded the Player of the Match Award for his 123-run knock
Tom Latham-led New Zealand won the toss and surprised everyone by choosing to bowl first on a sunny day. It was confirmed that Kane Williamson and Tim Southee would not be available for the opening match of World Cup 2023, but it was revealed at the time of the toss that Lockie Ferguson would also be dealing with a niggle and had to miss the game. On the other hand, Stokes was also unavailable for the match due to a hip injury he picked up on the eve of the tournament.
While batting first, England scored 282 runs in 50 overs with the loss of 9 wickets, and it is safe to say that it was a very poor total achieved by the defending champions as New Zealand showed England how to play bazball cricket in ODI format. Kiwis wasted no time and chased the target in just 36.2 overs, with 9 wickets in hand. With this, England not only suffered a loss but also got a shock on the points table as their net run rate was heavily affected.
Economical Bowling Display by Kiwis
Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow opened the innings for England but didn’t make an impact. Bairstow got off to a good start but threw his wicket to Mitchell Santner after making 33 off 35. Malan (14 off 24) never looked settled, and Henry sent him back to the pavilion.
Moeen Ali (11 off 17) and Harry Brook (25 off 16) fell victim to Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips respectively. However, a partnership of 70 runs was built by Joe Root and England skipper Jos Buttler. Joe Root (77 off 86) played a sensible knock under pressure and held one end for England.
Buttler contributed 43 runs off 42, and Matt Henry ensured he was kept below 50 runs. Liam Livingston also wasted his start, and Trent Boult cleaned him up. Root’s crucial innings came to an end when Phillips’s golden arm deceived him. Chris Woakes and Sam Curran contributed 21 runs in a partnership.
Moreover, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood put on a 30-run last-wicket partnership to get England to a defendable total. Henry finished with the spell of 10-1-48-3 and Santner finished with 10-0-37-2. Henry finished with figures of 10-1-48-3, and Santner finished with 10-0-37-2. Phillips picked up 2 wickets in just 3 overs, while Boult and Rachin Ravindra each picked up 1 wicket.
Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway Light Up the Opening Game of the World Cup 2023
While chasing 282, Blackcaps opener Will Young didn’t trouble the scoreboard and got a duck. Sam Curran cleaned him up, but unfortunately, that’s the only cheerful moment that happened for the English players. Rachin Ravindra came in at No. 3 and made a mockery of England’s bowling.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra forged a historical partnership of 273 runs. This partnership of 273 runs was the fourth-highest partnership in the World Cup for any wicket and also marked the first time that a New Zealand pair had shared a 200-plus partnership for any wicket in the World Cup.
Rachin Ravindra scored a record-breaking 123 runs off 96 balls with the help of 11 fours and 5 sixes. Ravindra smashed his maiden ODI hundred in just 82 deliveries, becoming the fastest New Zealand batter to reach a hundred in men’s ODI World Cup history. Rachin Ravindra (23y, 321d) also becomes the third youngest batsman to score a hundred on World Cup debut after Virat Kohli and Andy Flower.
Devon Conway became the first batsman to score a hundred in the World Cup 2023. Conway scored a breathtaking 152 runs off 121 balls with the help of 19 fours and 3 sixes. Conway (32y, 89d) became the second oldest batsman to score a hundred on World Cup debut after Jeremy Bray. The southpaw also became the fastest Blackcaps batsman to reach 1000 ODI runs, achieving it in just 22 innings. It was a great outing for both batsmen, especially in such an iconic cricket stadium.
Very, Very Close With Devon Conway, Special To Finish it off With Him – Rachin Ravindra
Rachin Ravindra, in the post-match presentation, said that it was sometimes unbelievable but truly great to have such an amazing day out. He praised the bowlers for their excellent performance and expressed his gratitude for having Devon Conway as his close mate on the field.
“Sometimes it’s unbelievable at times, but great to have a great day out. The bowlers bowled well and lucky enough to have Devon out there. I spent a lot of time with Devon and we are very, very close mates. Special to finish it off with him. I was little more comfortable and I have a lot of chat with Dev – being able to do that in the middle is cool,” said Rachin Ravindra.
“For sure, if you asked us four-five years, we all knew the kind of player Dev would become. The surface was very good and lovely to bat on, similar to the warm-up game in Hyderabad,” he added.