The World Cup 2023 in India has kicked off with a rematch of the previous edition’s final. Both sides had notable players missing the game. England scored 282 runs in the opening game. New Zealand were missing the services of their skipper, Kane Williamson as well as talismanic fast bowler Tim Southee. The defending champions were missing Ben Stokes. Tom Latham, the stand-in skipper for New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl first.
A slow powerplay for England
Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow started the New Zealand innings, and Tent Boult started the New Zealand bowling. Bairstow started the World Cup off in impressive fashion by hitting the second ball of the game for a six. Matt Henry shared the fresh ball with Boult. It turned out that Henry was more successful than Boult. Malan was struck out by Henry in the eighth over of the innings, putting an end to his shaky innings. Joe Root, the team’s lone anchor player, then entered the field of play. England had 51 runs at the end of the powerplay for the loss of just one wicket. This was a slow start by the standards of England.
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New Zealand chips away with regular wickets
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Bairstow was killed by Mitchell Santner’s left-arm spin shortly after the powerplay. In an attempt to play an inside-out shot, the English player’s first attempt went straight to Darryl Mitchell. Harry Brook was playing at number four in lieu of Ben Stokes for that particular game. In just 16 balls, Brook promptly scored 25 runs, hitting four fours and one six. Rachin Ravindra’s weak short ball was the one to which Brook was attempting to play a pull shot. Devon Conway caught the ball at deep mid-wicket after Brook mistimed the delivery. Before dismissing Brook, Ravindra was smashed for two fours and a six in three balls.
The fourth English batsman to be struck out was Moeen Ali. To counter Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra’s left-arm spin, Moeen was moved up the order. Incorporating right-arm spinner Glenn Phillips into the assault was a brilliant move by Latham, as Phillips was cleanly bowled Moeen Ali in his very first over.
Joe Root and Jos Buttler, the skipper, shared a 70-run stand. In the partnership, Buttler played the aggressive part, scoring 43 runs in just 42 balls while hitting two fours and sixes. Henry dismissed the dangerous English skipper. While wickets were falling in front of him, Root remained the steady player at one end. Just before the final 10 overs, Liam Livingstone was out for 20 runs off 22 balls.
New Zealand bowlers control death overs
With 229 runs already scored going into the final leg of the innings, England had lost Root in the 42nd over. Chris Woakes was then dismissed for 11 runs by Santner. Four balls into the next over, Henry dismissed Sam Curran to pick up his third wicket of the match. The lengthy lineup of batters available to England was unable to be fully used. Adil Rashid and Mark Wood’s last-wicket partnership gave the reigning champions some crucial runs. Rashid gave the team a boost at the end of the innings by hitting Neesham for a six in the final over. A helpful 30-run stand was shared by the pair.
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