The 2023 World Cup opening was improved by Devon Conway's 152 and Rachin Ravindra's 123 runs for New Zealand during a 283-run chase after a sluggish English first half resembled the middle overs of an early 2000s ODI.
Sequels in films rarely deliver; the same is true in sports. With its Thursday defeat by nine wickets, England learned this. The middle overs of an early 2000s ODI resembled the first half of the 2023 ODI World Cup opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with a fall of rapid wickets interspersed by rotation of strike and a scattering of big knocks.
The match needed a moment to pick up, and Rachin Ravindra's 123 during a 283 chase and Devon Conway's career-best undefeated 152 achieved just that. There was a sense of the colour contrast being turned up from the moment Ravindra pulled a 148 kmph thunderbolt from Mark Wood for six.
On his way to scoring fifty runs, Ravindra was dismissive against spin and used both his front and back feet to strike the ball. He hit nine boundaries in all, four more than any England batter could muster.
There was also pure wizardry going on at the other end. Conway was launching shots of all shapes and sizes in all directions, totaling an 83-ball 100. Conway was able to choose his place and puncture it at leisure since England bowlers were either too full or too short to him. The outcome for England was already a dismal certainty by the time Ravindra scored the fastest century for the Black Caps in an ODI World Cup off 82 balls.
With 13.4 overs remaining, they crossed the finish line thanks to a 273-run partnership, the fourth-highest in men's World Cup history.
Joe Root's sluggish 86-ball 77, his fourth half-century since the most recent ODI World Cup, held the England innings together earlier when he was batting first. Although he was clean bowled while attempting to reverse sweep an off-spin yorker from Glenn Phillips (3-0-17-2), Root may end up being Bazball's tournament mascot due to his brave but not foolish behaviour.
When Phillips clean-bowled Moeen Ali, his promotion to counter left-arm spinners failed. However, Jos Buttler's 43 gave the team a boost as he focused on the fourth bowler. Due to Lockie Ferguson's injury, the Kiwis were obliged to get 20 overs from batting all-rounders. James Neesham and Ravindra struggled, giving up 132 runs in total in 17 overs.
Trent Boult, Matt Henry, and Mitchell Santner all achieved significant victories as England's lively tail failed to wag. Santner's diverse pace resulted in 2 for 37 without giving up a boundary, while Henry successfully changed up his lengths for 3 for 48.
The only solace for England is that it will have a second chance when it plays Bangladesh in Dharamsala on Tuesday, while New Zealand will be hoping to maintain its winning streak against the Netherlands on Monday in Hyderabad.
