The Cricket World Cup has started with New Zealand secured a convincing nine-wicket victory over England. This match was highly anticipated as a rematch of the dramatic 2019 final between the two teams, but it had a very different outcome.
England, playing without star batter Ben Stokes due to a hip injury, batted first and posted a total of 282-9, which was below par by many standards at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
In response, New Zealand achieved their target of 283-1 in just 36.2 overs, with Devon Conway (152 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (123 not out) forming a remarkable partnership of 273 runs for the second wicket. This partnership was virtually chanceless and propelled New Zealand to a dominant victory. Remarkably, New Zealand achieved this without their captain Kane Williamson, who was sidelined due to a knee injury.
Devon Conway’s century came off just 83 balls, making it the fastest World Cup century by a New Zealand player. However, Rachin Ravindra went even faster, reaching his century in just 82 balls, becoming the youngest century-maker for New Zealand in World Cup history.
For England, Joe Root top-scored with 77, but the total of 282-9 proved inadequate. Notably, all of England’s batters reached double figures, marking the first time in the history of ODIs that this has happened.
New Zealand’s dominance was highlighted by the boundary count, with Conway and Ravindra hitting a total of 38 boundaries, compared to England’s 27.
