World Cup: NZ's Rachin Ravindra slams his maiden ODI century
New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra has slammed his maiden century in ODI cricket. He reached the three-figure mark while chasing 283 against England in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup opening match at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. This was Ravindra's maiden appearance in the ODI World Cup. He shared a century stand with Devon Conway. Here are the key stats.
An incredible ton on World Cup debut
Ravindra joined forces with Conway and took the Black Caps past 200 in a crucial run-chase. The former played scintillating strokes all around the ground. Ravindra, who has been promoted to the top order, reached his maiden ODI century off just 82 balls. Ravindra also featured in his maiden encounter in the World Cup. He hammered a 96-ball 123* (11 fours and 5 sixes).
Youngest NZ player to score a WC ton
At 23 years and 321 days, Ravindra has become the youngest New Zealand player to score a century in the World Cup. He broke the record of former batter Nathan Astle, who did so at 24 years and 152 days. It is worth noting that Astle's ton also came against England at the same venue (Ahmedabad) in the 1996 World Cup opener.
NZ's fastest centurion in WC
Conway became New Zealand's fastest centurion in the World Cup, having attained the feat off 83 balls. In a matter of minutes, youngster Ravindra broke his record, scoring his ton off 82 balls.
Ravindra has made headlines with his batting
Ravindra made his ODI debut earlier this year against Sri Lanka in Auckland. The batting all-rounder initially burst onto international cricket with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling. However, Ravindra has grabbed the eyeballs due to his batting of late. He now has over 280 runs from nine ODI innings at an average of more than 35. The tally includes two 50+ scores.
A look at the match summary
England made a steady start after NZ elected to field. Although openers Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan added 40 runs, England lost successive wickets. Only Joe Root and Jos Buttler crossed 40 for England as they managed 282/9 (50). It was a one-sided show in the second innings after Young departed. Conway and Ravindra slammed tons, guiding NZ to win in the 37th over.
