'Need to change my prediction': Sehwag removes England from his top 4 after their big loss in CWC '23 opener

England were thrashed by New Zealand by nine wickets in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 edition's opening game on Thursday (October 5) in Ahmedabad. While many believed the defending champions would start with a win, the Kane Williamson-less New Zealanders put up a clinical show to chase down 283 by nine wickets with 82 balls to spare. The Kiwis rode on Devon Conway's 152 not out and Rachin Ravindra's unbeaten 123 to claim a win without breaking much sweat.

Tom Latham-led Black Caps won the toss and opted to bowl first. England were off to a good start and were 94 for 2 before being reduced to 188 for 5. At 221 for 5, England still had a lot of batting to come but they only managed 282/9 when they could have crossed the 300-run mark with ease. Matt Henry's 3 for 48 and two wickets each from Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips. In the run-chase, NZ lost opener Will Young for 0 (1) but nothing worked from there on for the English side as Conway-Rachin's unbeaten 273-run second-wicket stand ended the game in a flash.

Speaking on Cricbuzz after the match, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag removed Jos Buttler-led England from his top four following their crushing defeat in the CWC '23 opener. He said, "I had kept England in my top four, but I think I need to change my prediction now. Yes, they can lose two matches and still make it to the semi-finals. However, their net run rate has taken a massive hit. So, they will need to beat another team by a big margin."

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Reviewing the match, Sehwag opined, "The wicket didn't change; New Zealand just batted better. The England batters' shot selection was poor. New Zealand, on the other hand, lost just one wicket. The two batters remained till the end because their shot selection was very good. That made a big difference. I'd say that we have already seen one upset in this World Cup, and they (NZ) also took revenge for the 2019 World Cup final."

At the post-match presentation, a dejected England captain Buttler said, "Disappointing day, outplayed by New Zealand, tough to take that defeat. One loss, still a long tournament. Lot of guys in our team have played a lot of cricket. We have beaten teams this way before and we have been at the end of such results before. I thought we were well below par, not judging by the way New Zealand batted, because we were aiming for somewhere around 330. It was a good wicket to bat and I think it got even better in the second innings. Tough to build any pressure with the start they got. We lacked being clinical with our executions. Some of those dismissals, the right shots weren't quite executed. We will keep it positive, we'll keep playing our way, can't be too defensive but we weren't clinical in shot selection and execution."

England will now play Bangladesh in Dharamshala on Tuesday (October 10).

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