ICC World Cup 2023: Fruitful start for Kiwis

NZ’s Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra celebrate their win over England in Ahmedabad yesterday. Pic/PTI

The opening game of the 13th ODI World Cup was expected to be a humdinger, just like the rivals dished out in the 2019 final at Lord's. But it turned into a rather one-sided contest, largely because England failed to deliver the type of aggressive cricket Jos Buttler had promised on the eve of the match. In fact, it seemed a reversal of roles, with New Zealand taking a leaf out of England's aggressive batting style, while the latter struggled in the face of a determined bowling effort by the Kiwis.

Williamson misses out

New Zealand, playing without their captain Kane Williamson, bowled and fielded purposefully, with stand-in captain Tom Latham marshaling his resources well. Once England were restricted to 282-9, it was amply clear that they were well short of the par score.

Also Read: Unbeaten hundreds by Conway, Ravindra spur Kiwis to 9-wicket win over England

The way Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra dealt with the England bowling after the early fall of Will Young, and stitched together an unbeaten 273-run alliance, the result was a foregone conclusion. New Zealand were home with 13.4 overs and nine wickets to spare, with both Conway and Ravindra getting undefeated centuries.

There is also no doubt that the absence of an unfit Ben Stokes was felt by the England team, but then, New Zealand were also without their batting mainstay Williamson. However, that gave Ravindra, whose parents hail from Bangalore, a golden opportunity to stamp his class in his first ODI World Cup game and also register a maiden ODI century in his 13th game. He got to his hundred in just 82 balls with nine fours and four sixes and matched his Conway stroke-for-stroke. Rachin's name is a combination of Rahul and Sachin, which his parents gave him after India's batting stars. His superb innings of 123 had Tendulkar's aggression and Dravid's determination and heralded his arrival on the international scene with a bang. He is going to serve New Zealand cricket well and long as he is a handy left-arm spinner too.

There is no doubt that batting under lights was easier than in the first half when the sun made the ball hold up a bit. The England batters found it difficult to play the fluent brand of cricket often termed as Bazball and struggled to get runs at a rapid pace. It was a dour batter like Joe Root who held sway, getting 77 from 86 deliveries.

England lose their way

Almost all the England batters got a start, but could not make it count. The way Latham rotated the bowlers and used part-time off-spinner Glenn Phillips did have its effect. Phillips first cleaned up Moeen Ali when he threatened to cut loose and then accounted for a well-set Root to put England on the backfoot. England did manage a decent enough total with the last pair of Adil Rashid and Mark Wood adding 30 for the last wicket. But the target never looked adequate once Conway and Ravindra tore into the lacklustre England bowling.

New Zealand have set the tone for the other top teams to follow when those teams will up against the defending champions later in the tournament.