World Cup 2023: New Zealand thrash reigning champions England by 9 wickets

New Zealand romped to a nine-wicket win in their opening contest of the World Cup against reigning champions England, courtesy of heroic hundreds from Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. Playing under the lights at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Kiwis registered a statement victory which may have brushed aside some of the bitter memories of the 2019 WC final.

New Zealand finished the game with 82 balls to spare as England's run-rate was dealt some considerable blow. Conway remained unbeaten on 152 while Ravindra stood tall with a belligerent 96-ball 123-run innings as the duo stitched a 273-run stand. None of the English bowlers could really trouble the Kiwi batters who playednear-chanceless innings.

A target of 283 was never going to be enough on this pitch but England had a brief hope when Will Young departed without troubling the scorers in the second over. However,that was to be the only success for English bowlers as both Conway and Ravindra toyed with the bowling.

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NZ dominate from the get-go

Winning the toss, New Zealand captain Tom Latham, acting as a stand-by for Kane Williamson put England into bat. Despite starting the innings with a six, both openers Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan perished in quick succession in the first hour.

Out of formJoe Root came in at three and attempted to steer the ship. Harryy Brook, Stokes’ replacement for this game, had the taste of the World Cup stage, slamming a few boundaries off Ravindra, only to fall on the last ball for a well-made 16-ball 25. All-rounder Moeen Ali departed next as England got reduced to 118 for four inside 22 overs.

A 60-run stand between Captain Jos Buttler and Root brought England back into the game, with the former skipper completing his first fifty of the World Cup 2023. Glenn Philips removed Root to bag his second for the day.

Liam Livingstone got things going with quick runs, including three fours during his short 20-run stay.

New Zealand bounced back with two wickets, hampering England’s momentum. While they looked stern to put England’s batting on the mat, little partnerships by tailenders had the World champions going for a decent target. In the end, a small partnership betweenMark Wood and Adil Rashid pushed England to a respectable total.

While star match-winner Ben Stokes missed out for England due to a hip niggle, the Kiwis were without its three first-team players in Tim Southee, regular captain Kane Williamson and seamer Lockie Ferguson.

The defeat means that the defending champions will have to pick up the slack early in the tournament which has been designed to give every team a chance to bounce back, even if they start slow.

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