Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra played exceptional innings to lead New Zealand to a dominant nine-wicket victory over defending champions England in the opening match of the World Cup.
England, missing the influential Ben Stokes due to a hip injury, managed to post a total of 282-9 after New Zealand chose to bowl first at Ahmedabad’s massive cricket stadium.
Conway (152) and Ravindra (123), both left-handed batsmen, then formed an unbeaten partnership of 273 runs for the second wicket as the Black Caps comfortably achieved the target with 13.4 overs to spare.
This result was in stark contrast to the thrilling World Cup final between these two teams in 2019, which England won on a boundary countback after the match ended in a tie.
Ravindra, speaking about their partnership, said, “Sometimes it’s unbelievable at times, but great to have a great day out. The bowlers bowled well and we were lucky enough to have Devon out there. I have spent a lot of time with Dev, and we are very, very close mates.”
In the absence of regular captain Kane Williamson, Tom Latham led New Zealand’s side, and they managed to keep England to a below-par total despite Joe Root’s contribution of 77 runs.
Ravindra and Conway made light work of the target as they attacked the opposition bowlers all around the ground. Conway reached his century off 83 balls, which included 13 fours and two sixes, and also crossed the milestone of 1,000 runs in just 23 ODI matches.
Ravindra, at the age of 23, scored his maiden ODI century off 82 balls, featuring nine fours and four sixes. Their partnership helped secure an emphatic win and gave New Zealand an early boost in their net run-rate.
Buttler still hopeful
England’s captain, Jos Buttler, acknowledged the team’s disappointment but emphasized that it was just one loss in a long tournament.
In the earlier part of the match, fast bowler Matt Henry took three wickets for New Zealand, while spinners Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips each grabbed two wickets.
Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow provided a brisk start for England, but they lost wickets along the way. Joe Root managed to reach his 37th ODI half-century, but his dismissal and some late contributions from Adil Rashid and Mark Wood were not enough to bolster England’s total.
