Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra combined for a match-winning stand. Photo / Photosport
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra combined for a match-winning stand. Photo / Photosport
After missing out on the last ODI World Cup by the barest of margins, the Black Caps have begun the next with an absolute thumping.
The 2019 runners-up this morning exacted a measure of revenge over defending champions England, delivering a nine-wicket destruction at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Black Caps played like they had been waiting four long years for a chance to banish the heartbreak of Lord’s, but this triumph was built by couple of batters who couldn’t call on that motivating factor.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra both smashed unbeaten centuries and put on a record 273 for the second wicket, helping New Zealand easily overhaul England’s 282-9.
That total seemed below par before Conway and Ravindra unleashed; a combination of tight bowling, canny captaincy and errant shot-making had seen England squander a promising platform.
But the way Conway (152no from 121) and Ravindra (123no from 96) proceeded to strike the ball, plundering 168 runs from boundaries, almost any target would have been within reach.
The Wellington pair were making their ODI World Cup bows, domestic teammates when the Black Caps were denied a maiden crown by a boundary countdown after the tied 2019 final.
Both at the time would have harboured international ambitions — Conway pursuing that goal after immigrating from South Africa; Ravindra hoping to convert the promise he had shown in age-group national sides.
But neither could have dreamed of an outing like this, coming together in the second over and ruthlessly picking apart the England attack with a relentless blend of placement and power.
Ravindra, batting at No 3 in place of the rehabilitating Kane Williamson, set the tone with a level of poise to bely his 23 years, thriving especially against extra pace while stroking boundaries square and straight.
His first name inspired by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, the timing Ravindra displayed was worthy of that lofty billing, scoring a maiden international ton with the Master Blaster in the building.
Ravindra raced to three figures from only 82 balls — a few overs after Conway had done likewise from 83.
His fifth ODI ton was the type of knock now expected of the opener in all formats: methodically compiled with barely half a chance offered to the opposition.
It was the backbone of the second-highest partnership for a Black Caps pair in ODI cricket — one run shy of the record for any wicket — and marked a dream start to the aim of erasing the nightmarish end of 2019.
Devon Conway in action against England. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand next play three games they will expect to win before encountering the hosts and the stretch of schedule that will determine their semifinal fate.
By that stage they should have a full squad for selection, with Williamson, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson unavailable against England.
The missing pacemen left Tom Latham needing to carefully manage his bowling group after winning the toss, but senior trio Matt Henry (3-48), Mitchell Santner (2-37) and Trent Boult (1-48) each responded for the stand-in skipper.
England had earned a convincing 3-1 series win over the Black Caps last month, and they headed to India among the favourites. But after a steady start took them to 40-0 in the eighth over, form and favouritism quickly disappeared.
A succession of English batsmen made a string of poor decisions to regularly give away wickets while looking to clear the rope in a cavernous — and largely empty — Narendra Modi Stadium.
New Zealand's Matt Henry celebrates the wicket of England's Dawid Malan during the ICC Cricket World Cup. Photo /AP
Latham and his bowlers deserved credit for their plans and field placements but England too often forced a shot not there to play, the big-hitting trio of Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone particularly guilty.
After Glenn Phillips had removed Mooen Ali with his second delivery, earning a seventh ODI scalp, England had fallen to 118-4. Joe Root (77) and Jos Buttler (43) then accumulated well in the middle overs before Henry returned to nick out the latter and scupper English plans for a big finish.
When Phillips sneaked one under Root’s premeditated reverse sweep, it began to feel like New Zealand’s day. And when Ravindra replaced Will Young after the opener had been strangled for a golden duck, that feeling was confirmed.
