WC2023:: New Zealand easily defeated England in the inaugural game in Ahmedabad.
Delhi: The defending champions England were soundly defeated by New Zealand in the opening game of the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup. The Black Caps did this to exact retribution for their loss to England in the 2019 final.
Devon Conway (152*) and Rachin Ravindra (123*)-led New Zealand to victory by 9 wickets against England. The Kiwis crushed the defending champions as England bowlers had no clue how to deal with the massive storms named Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra.
New Zealand stand-in captain Tom Latham won the toss and chose to bowl first. England lost wickets at regular intervals while Joe Root anchored much of its innings. His 70-run stand with captain Jos Buttler off 72 balls was England’s highest. England bat deep but they lost six wickets before the 40th over. Eventually, they got into a real spot of bother when Root fell for 77 off 86. The last 10 overs turned out to be a grind for England and they eventually managed to get to a score of 282/9 in 50 overs.
The best bowler was New Zealand’s Matt Henry, a pacer who claimed three wickets and allowed 48 runs to be scored in his 10 overs. As a result of his outstanding century against the reigning champions, Ravindra was awarded Player of the Match.
