Twitter Reactions: Conway, Ravindra make a mockery of England to seal World Cup opener by nine wickets

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 got off to a rollicking start as New Zealand beat England in the opening fixture by nine wickets on Thursday, October 05 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. After being put in to bat first, England were restricted to a below-par score of 282/9 in the first innings with Joe Root top-scoring with his knock of 77 (86). In reply, New Zealand lost an early wicket as their opener Will Young (0 off 1) got dismissed for a golden duck by Sam Curran.

However, Devon Conway (152* off 121) and Rachin Ravindra (123* off 96) stitched an unbeaten match-winning stand of 273 runs for the second wicket off just 211 balls to help their side chase down the target in just 36.2 overs. The 23-year-old Ravindra who notched up his first hundred of his career playing just his 13^th ODI, was awarded Player of the Match.

Earlier in the day, England opener Jonny Bairstow got the World Cup off to an incredible start as he flicked Trent Boult for a six on just the second ball of the tournament. However, he failed to convert his start into a big score getting dismissed for 33 (35) by Mitchell Santer.

Joe Root starred with the bat for England

Dawid Malan (14 off 24), Harry Brook (25 off 16) and Moeen Ali (11 off 17) also failed to go big as England were left reeling at 118/4 after 21.2 overs. However, Joe Root held one end and played a magnificent innings of 77 (86) smashing four fours and a six.

He got good support from Jos Buttler (43 off 42) as the duo added 70 runs for the fifth wicket off 72 balls. Late Cameos from Adil Rashid (15 off 13) and Mark Wood (13 off 14) took England’s score to 282/9 in their allotted 50 overs. Matt Henry was the pick of the bowlers for Kiwis with figures of 3/48 in ten overs.

Meanwhile, after facing such a massive loss early on in the tournament, the defending champions will have to win by big margins going ahead to keep their net run rate healthy on the World Cup 2023 Points table. X was also buzzing with reactions on New Zealand’s massive win.

Here are some of the posts:

Kudos to @BLACKCAPS on a fantastic win in the first match of World Cup 2023! Hats off to Conway and Ravindra for their solid centuries and to Latham for leading the team so well in Kane Williamson's absence. 🏏👏 #CWC23 #ENGvNZ #CricketWorldCup2023

— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) October 5, 2023

NewZealand 🇳🇿just bazballed England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 !! Some batting that by 2 left handers .Looks like toss will play a big role in this #WorldCup2023 . Batting looks easy under lights . #icccricketworldcup2023

— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) October 5, 2023

Bina sweat ke jeeti hai New Zealand. What a start for their world up campaign! #ENGvNZ

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 5, 2023

Young fearless and talented put a balanced head on those young shoulders an all time great for the future #RachinRavindra #ENGvNZ #CWC2023

— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) October 5, 2023

Start of the #CWC23 & what a statement by New Zealand. Ravindra & Conway bringing up a 💯 each. Both in control. What a way to start?

— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 5, 2023

Watching @D_Conway88 and Rachin Ravindra play is a visual delight, this couldn’t get any better. A dream start to New Zealand's campaign! 🌟#CWC23 #NzvEng

— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) October 5, 2023

Rachin Ravindra, remember the ,,,,,,,,, you know the rest. Great from himself and one of my favorite batters in the modern game across formats, Devon Conway. #ICC World Cup centuries to savor.

— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) October 5, 2023

Devon Conway showed tonight he is a sharp and smart fighter. He is mentally strong and very skilful. He brings top class stroke play to the international field. Playing in ipl and with world’s best finisher Dhoni at CSK also helps. #ENGvNZ

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) October 5, 2023

Devon Conway what a special innings 💯
All class…understands what tempo is required and how to quietly demolish an opponent. #CWC23

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) October 5, 2023

Duo's of NZ #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/i1EgOavUhR

— Vivek Kujur (@vivekkujur1734) October 5, 2023

152* runs from Devon Conway
123* runs from Rachin Ravindra

They added unbeaten 273* runs together for the 2nd wicket and won the very first game of the World Cup against England for New Zealand by 9 wickets👏#NZvENG#icccricketworldcup2023 #NarendraModiStadium pic.twitter.com/v7omFWOJLt

— Rakesh Kashyap (@RakeshMishra00) October 5, 2023

#Nzl beat Defending Champions #Eng in the first match.#NZvENG #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/ldC56SENu9

— Sunil (@TweetsOfSunil) October 5, 2023

#Nzl beat Defending Champions #Eng in the first match.#NZvENG #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/ldC56SENu9

— Sunil (@TweetsOfSunil) October 5, 2023

Couldn't have asked for a better start to the campaign. Dominant display 🛐🔥#WorldCup2023 #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/ubXXhTwUco

— Jaye𝕏h 👨‍💻 (@Bazinga__Punk_) October 5, 2023

Ye warm up match tha kiya itna easy ho kar khel Rahe te New Zealand wale#icccricketworldcup2023 #NZvENG #CricketWorldCup pic.twitter.com/piF9JXehiv

— Hamza AYUB (@itshamzaayub) October 5, 2023

"New Zealand emerges victorious, not just on the scoreboard but also in boundary count! 38 boundaries to their name, outclassing England's 26. What a thrilling match! 🏏🔥 #NZvENG #WorldCup2023 " pic.twitter.com/lhQxwVJX6U

— Zaheer Ahmad 🇵🇰 (@ZaheerAhmad0786) October 5, 2023