New Zealand defeated England by nine wickets in the first match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup on Saturday. Devon Conway and Glenn Ravindra scored brilliant centuries as the Black Caps reached their target of 283 with 13.4 overs to spare.
New Zealand asked England to bat first in the World Cup 2023 opener which set a target of 283.
England had laboured to 282-9 in their 50 overs, with Joe Root top-scoring with 77 and Jos Buttler making 43.
Matthew Henry was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers, taking 3-48.
New Zealand's chase got off to a flying start, with Conway and Finn Allen putting on 96 for the first wicket in just 13 overs.
Allen was dismissed for 43, but Conway continued to score freely, reaching his century in 98 balls.
Ravindra joined Conway at the crease and the pair added another 185 runs for the second wicket.
Ravindra reached his century in 102 balls and the pair eventually saw their side home to a comfortable victory.
England innings
For England, their key player Ben Stokes couldn't play due to a hip injury. England's batting didn't start well as they kept losing wickets regularly.
Some players got good starts but couldn't turn them into big scores.
The best performer for England was Joe Root. He played really well and had a partnership of 70 runs with the team captain Jos Buttler, who scored 43 runs.
Facing a strong New Zealand bowling attack, even though they were missing Tim Southee, England's batsmen struggled to score.
This match was a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, which England won in a very close game decided by counting boundaries at Lord's.
Matt Henry, a bowler for New Zealand, was the star of the match. He took 3 wickets for 48 runs. Spinners Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips also did a great job, taking 2 wickets each.
Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow gave England a good start, but New Zealand's bowlers soon got them out. Malan got caught behind off Henry's bowling, and Bairstow was dismissed by Santner after scoring 33 runs.
Harry Brook, who was playing in place of Ben Stokes, started aggressively. He hit two fours and a six off the left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra. However, he got caught at deep mid-wicket when he tried another big shot.
Joe Root played exceptionally well. He scored 77 runs off 57 balls, including two fours and a fantastic six using a reverse scoop shot.
Sadly, Root was out when he attempted a reverse sweep against Glenn Phillips' off-spin, and England found themselves in a tough spot.
As England faced difficulties, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood played sensibly to ensure the team completed their 50 overs, reaching a total of 282-9.
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