A remarkable partnership of 273 runs has dominated and overwhelmed England, the reigning champions at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. They had lost the previous World Cup due to a boundary count, but Conway and Ravindra launched an exceptional offensive that made a mockery of the boundary count. Both score 100. Rachin Ravindra was declared player of the match.
England’s performance appeared surprisingly clueless. Ravindra and Conway, however, demolished the bowlers. Chris Woakes conceded runs with the new ball, while Sam Curran began with two maiden overs, one of which included a wicket.
Mark Wood consistently bowled over 150 km/h but conceded boundaries. Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, and Liam Livingstone were all called upon, but both left-handers in the partnership took them on and set a new record.
Kane Williamson’s injury allowed Ravindra to bat at No. 3, and he impressed many. Despite entering the competition with less-than-ideal form, Conway played flawlessly, showcasing an array of front-foot and back-foot shots like punches, pulls, and cuts.
Matt Henry’s fiery three-wicket haul and Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner’s two helped New Zealand restrict defending champions England to 282/9 in the opening match of the World Cup 2023 here at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Put to bat first, the defending champions got off to a fiery start as opener Jonny Bairstow played spectacular shots by striking a six off the very first ball of the contest.
However, opener Dawid Malan was cautious with his approach against the Blackcaps pacers. In the eighth over, Malan ultimately nicked one behind Matt Henry and went back to the pavilion after scoring just 14 runs in 24 balls.
But in the second powerplay, New Zealand took back control of the situation as Mitchell Santner sent Bairstow (33) packing in the 13th over.
Joe Root kept one end intact and scored 77 runs.
Harry Brook (25), who had struck 4, 4, and 6 off the previous in the 17th over, fell prey to Rachin Ravindra and gave up a catch in deep midwicket.
After losing Moeen Ali to Glenn Phillips’ off-spin, England’s scoring rate was further hampered. Well-set batters Jos Buttler and Root lost their wickets and left England tottering.
In the 45th over of the game, Chris Woakes fell prey to Santner’s final ball of his spell. In the next over, Henry’s short delivery baffled Sam Curran, who handed a catch to Tom Latham after scoring 14 runs.
Mark Wood then came out to join hands with Adil Rashid at the crease. In the last over, Rashid opened his hands and slammed James Neesham for 14 runs to help England post a competitive total of 282/9.
