06 October,2023 10:34 AM IST | Ahmedabad | Subodh Mayure
New Zealand`s Rachin Ravindra celebrates his century against England in Ahmedabad yesterday. Pic/PTI
New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, who played a key role along with opener Devon Conway in the Kiwis' one-sided triumph over defending champions England in the World Cup opener on Thursday, reckoned that scoring his first ODI century on Indian soil was a special achievement.
The Black Caps won a World Cup opener again, like they did against the Mike Atherton-led England team in the 1996 edition at Motera.
Tom Latham's team continued to enjoy good Motera vibes by outclassing the defending champions by nine wickets with 82 balls to spare at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
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The chief architects of NZ's win were Conway and one-drop Ravindra. In pursuit of England's 282-9, Johannesburg-born Conway, 32, smashed unbeaten an 152 (19x4, 3x6), while Indian-origin Ravindra, 23, scored 123 not out (11x4, 5x6) to begin their World Cup campaign in style.
Ravindra, who registered his maiden ODI century, said, "Yeah, I think a hundred is always special, but I guess in terms of being able to perform in India, is pretty cool. I think, it's cool to have Indian roots. It was nice to have my parents there watching; they flew over from New Zealand. So, it's cool to have that moment and obviously it's always nice coming to India. I have a sense of family connection whenever I'm in Bangalore and being able to see my grandparents and stuff so yeah, it's pretty cool," Ravindra remarked at the post-match press conference on Thursday.
He also credited Conway for sharing a match-winning 273-run stand. "Dev's an absolutely incredible and special player. I think being able to share the pitch with him was pretty cool. I think he just demonstrated his class throughout his knock. I think some of the shots he was hitting put that wow look on your face. It was just pretty cool to be able to share that with him, the guy I guess I've spent a lot of time with over the last sort of five, six years and seen how he's risen to one of the best batters in the world. It's pretty cool to share that milestone with him," Ravindra added.
