The opening game of the 2023 World Cup between England and New Zealand, a repeat of that epic 2019 final, was expected to be a tight contest. Instead, it turned into a one-sided affair, with New Zealand thumping the defending champions by nine wickets. Rachin Ravindra (123 not out) and Devon Conway (152 not out) composed superlative hundreds as they chased down the target in just over 36.2 overs.
As New Zealand began their chase, the key point to note was whether the ball would skid a little more in the second innings. It certainly did, as Ravindra and Conway explored every nook and cranny of the ground. On the other hand, England’s bowlers were all over the shop, and none of them could settle into any kind of rhythm.
Ravindra, who took guard at the fall of Will Young’s wicket, immediately showcased his class by crunching a stylish flick and followed it up with an equally pleasing pull off Chris Woakes. Conway joined in the act as it started to rain boundaries from the duo’s bat. You name a shot, and they played it. Mark Wood bowled fast but the ball seemed to travel faster to the boundary hoardings. He gave away 27 runs in his first two overs and went for 55 in just five. The essence of Ravindra’s batting was a minimal trigger movement and economy of movement, as well as picking the length early.
When Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali were introduced into the attack, the spin duo were also severely punished. It seemed more like Conway and Ravindra were playing a video game, with 150 up in just 20 overs and 200 in only 27 overs. By then, Conway had compiled his maiden World Cup hundred. He took his helmet off to celebrate the moment, and also got a warm hug from Ravindra.
Ravindra soon joined him in completing a century on World Cup debut a couple of overs later. By then, the shoulders of England’s fielders had dropped, and the batting pair went for the kill. In the 35th over, Sam Curran was smashed for 22 runs by Conway. And he wasn’t done yet, as he smacked Livingstone for two fours. Ravindra provided the finishing touches by picking up an easy single in the next over. All that a dispirited England side could do was shake hands with their opponents.
Earlier, Joe Root had accrued a fine 86-ball 77, while Jos Buttler finished with 43, but none of the batters converted their starts into hundreds. For New Zealand, Matt Henry bowled with purpose and took a three-for. Mitchell Santner, who bowled quite beautifully to stem the early tide, and Glenn Phillips took two scalps each. Phillips taking two wickets with his part-time spin was a bonus for New Zealand.
Although Trent Boult bagged a solitary wicket, he made an important contribution as that turned out to be Liam Livingstone. From 221 for 5, England slid to 252 for 9. Rashid and Wood added some useful runs lower down the order, but that proved to be far too inadequate in the final analysis.
England have very few positives to take from the game. Yes, the conditions eased out in the second innings but the bowling was poor. In hindsight, they could have picked Reece Topley. Buttler also didn’t employ Root, who has a knack of taking wickets. Meanwhile, the New Zealand camp would be chuffed. They lost the 2019 World Cup final on the basis of boundary countback. In Ahmedabad, it rained boundaries from Conway and Ravindra as they combined to score 30 fours between them.