World Cup 2023, England vs New Zealand: Rachin Ravindra says he was ‘lucky’ to have Devon Conway in the middle

Rachin Ravindra said he was “lucky” to have Devon Conway for company in the middle during New Zealand’s opening game of the 2023 ICC World Cup against defending champions England in Ahmedabad.

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Conway and Ravindra slammed hundreds and stitched a mammoth 273-run partnership as New Zealand chased down the target of 283 set by England with nine wickets and nearly 14 overs to spare to begin their World Cup campaign with a bang.

England had earlier posted 282/9 on the board after stand-in Black Caps skipper Tom Latham opted to field, with veteran batter Joe Root top-scoring for the side with an 86-ball 77.

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“Sometimes it’s unbelievable at times, but great to have a great day out. The bowlers bowled well and lucky enough to have Devon out there. I spent a lot of time with Dev and we are very, very close mates. I was little more comfortable and I have a lot of chat with Dev — being able to do that in the middle is cool,” said Ravindra, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 96-ball 123 not out on World Cup debut.

Conway and Ravindra came to the Kiwis’ rescue after opener Will Young was dismissed for a golden duck off Sam Curran’s bowling with just 10 runs on the board. Not only would Conway and Ravindra, who was promoted to No 3 in place of the absent Kane Williamson, steer the Black Caps out of trouble, they ended up transferring the pressure back onto the Buttler-led English team.

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The pair would later toy with the English attack once out of the danger zone, and ended up getting the Kiwis over the line by themselves.

Skipper Latham also heaped praise on the Black Caps bowling unit besides the third-wicket pair for restricting England to a score that later turned out to be short of par.

“Obviously, a fantastic partnership between Rachin and Devon. From the 30-over mark onwards, to restrict them to 280 was fantastic. The two seamers — Henners (Matt Henry) and Boulty (Trent Boult) — did a great job and took wickets at crucial times.

“To restrict them to 280 was outstanding. Probably, the most pleasing thing was Devon and Rachin just reacted to what was being bowled. Rachin played a fantastic innings and proud of him. Looking forward to get around him tonight,” Latham said during the post-match presentation.

England skipper Buttler, who led the side to T20 World Cup triumph in Australia last year, admitted his team had been “outplayed”.

“Disappointing day. Very much outplayed by New Zealand and tough defeat to take. It’s still one loss in a long tournament,” Buttler said in the post-match presentation.

“I thought we were well below par. We were aiming for somewhere around 330 and it (the pitch) somewhat played better under lights. We just lacked being clinical with your execution.

“I think NZ played some great cricket shots and got great value for them. Devon Conway — can’t think of massive shots but he scored quickly. Him and Rachin put together a fantastic partnership and we were well beaten,” added Buttler.