New Zealand proved why they are highly rated in World Cups as they hammered defending champions England by 9 wickets, at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.Kiwis successfully chased down the target of 282 in just 36.2 overs on Thursday, October 5. New Zealand were without 3 of their players, including regular captain Kane Williamson, spin wizard Ish Sodhi, and ace pacer Tim Southee, but the BlackCaps looked in no discomfort.Devon Conway (152*) and Rachin Ravindra (123*) guide the team to an opening win in India! Both on @cricketworldcup debut. Scorecard | https://t.co/aNkBrDiAuv #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/pWrLvtCqPP— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 5, 2023 Weeks after their 3-1 defeat to England in an ODI series, New Zealand bounced back well as they completely outclassed the defending champions of the 2019 World Cup final.Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra wrote the script of chase as the two left-handed batters put on a show in Ahmedabad.The 23-year-old left-hander, Rachin Ravindra hit the winning runs, who had become the youngest New Zealand batter to hit a World Cup hundred, remained unbeaten on 123. Devon Conway, who had a lot of experience in playing in Indian conditions, remained unbeaten on 152 as the two batters added an unbeaten 273 runs stand for the 2nd wicket.Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conways 273 stand was also the highest unbeaten partnership in the Cricket World Cup history. It was also the 4th highest overall in the competition.🔸Career-best individual scores🔸An unbeaten 273-run standRachin Ravindra and Devon Conway were in top form in the #CWC23 opener 🔥#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/BJlEmcmstl— ICC (@ICC) October 5, 2023 Jos Buttler said in post-match representation, “Disappointing day, outplayed by New Zealand, tough to take that defeat. One loss, still a long tournament. A lot of guys in our team have played a lot of cricket. We have beaten teams this way before and we have been beaten like this before as well”.Sam Curran was the only bowler who found success with the ball as he picked up Youngs wicket and gave away 47 runs in 6 overs.Both of Englands experienced spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali were ineffective as Conway and Rachin toyed with their lines and lengths in Ahmedabad.Disappointing batting show from EnglandEarlier in the day, Joe Root hit 77 as England batters failed miserably to take the bazeball route that has brought them plenty of success over a couple of years.Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan took their time against a Lockie Ferguson-less bowling attack while Trent Boult looked off-coloured, today.Defeat in our #CWC23 opener in Ahmedabad.We head up to Dharamshala to face Bangladesh on Tuesday.Match Centre: https://t.co/C5fecFNaY7@cricketworldcup | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/l0aibh0YCF— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 5, 2023 Joe Root was the only batter who looked in good touch as the rest of the batters, including skipper Jos Buttler, threw their wickets away to play expensive shots. Thanks to handy contributions from the back end, England managed to reach 282 which in the end was not enough.In the next encounter, England will face the Netherlands on October 9 in Hyderabad while England will face Bangladesh on October 10 in Dharamsala.
