2023 CWC Match 1: New Zealand Dominates England

2023 CWC Match 1: New Zealand Dominates England in a Powerful Statement Victory

The two-time finalists beat the defending world champions in a dominating fashion.

(Cricket News) New Zealand started their World Cup campaign with a bang by beating defending world champion England by nine wickets. The Blackcaps entered the World Cup with an injury-plagued team, with captain Kane Williamson and veteran bowler Tim Southee sidelined, but the other players stepped up and delivered when it mattered the most.

Winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, New Zealand had a rough start, giving 35 runs in the powerplay as Johnny Bairstow and Dawid Malan looked in good touch. Soon after, the openers departed, and it was Joe Root who held the other end, but the England batsman kept coming and going. Moeen Ali and Harry Brook fell cheaply, and England were looking in deep trouble, but there was light at the end of the tunnel as Jos Buttler started to counterattack

Matt Henry was able to break the vital partnership, getting the wicket of Jos Buttler, and Glenn Phillips got the important wicket of Joe Root, getting him out on 77. England ended up scoring 282/9 in 50 overs, with some handy contributions from the lower order.

End of first innings: England – 282/9; Joe Root 77(86); Jos Buttler 43(42); Mitchell Santner 10-37-1-2; Matt Henry 10-48-1-3.

England started on a high, getting the early wicket of Will Young. However, there was no looking back as Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway stitched one of the greatest first wicket partnerships in the history of the Cricket World Cup, giving the England bowlers a run for their money and smashing the kookaburra all over the park.

The two left handers played flawless cricket as they found the gaps effortlessly, timed the ball to perfection, and looked in no mood of slowing down. Both of them ended up scoring centuries, and New Zealand added 2 points to their account while boosting their net run rate by +2.149.

End of second innings: New Zealand – 283/1; Devon Conway 151(121); Rachin Ravindra 123(96); Sam Curran 6-47-2-1.

England will have to go back to the drawing board and figure where they have gone wrong as they sit on the bottom of the table with a NRR of -2.149.