AHMEDABAD – New Zealand thrashed England by nine wickets in the World Cup 2023 opener at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday evening.
Chasing below par 283 runs target, Kiwis completed the task in 36.2 overs with nine wickets to spare. After losing opener Will Young with only 10 runs on the board, Devon Conway (152) and Rachin Ravindra (123) stitched quick fired 273 runs unbeaten partnership to steer the team to the victory.
Sam Curran took the only wicket which fell during the run chase.
Earlier, World Champion England posted 282/9 in the allotted 50 overs after asked to bat first by the new Zealand captain Tom Latham.
Joe Root was the highest scorer with 77 runs. Jos Buttler made 43, Jonny Bairstow 33, Herry Brook 25, Liam Livingstone 20 and Adil Rasheed 15 runs.
Matt Henry bagged three wickets, Mitchel Santner and Glenn Philips two each and Trent Boult and Rachin Ravindra took one wicket each.
Devon Conway was named player of the match for his brilliant hundred.
The 13th edition of the World Cup comprises of 45 league matches and three knockout matches.
Ten teams named Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka are taking part in the mega cricket tournament.
Played in the same format as Cricket World Cup 2019, the 10 teams at Cricket World Cup 2023 will play every other side once in a single round robin format, with the top four teams going on to the semi-finals.
The top team after the round robin will play the team finishing fourth on the table, while the second and third-place finishers will meet in the other semi-final.
The winners of each semi-final will meet in the final on 20 November.
Squads
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
