England vs New Zealand, 1st Match at Ahmedabad, World Cup 2023, Oct 05 2023 - Match Result

9pm NZ have started the World Cup with a bang. They've found a new hero in Rachin Ravindra. He might not have even played had Ferguson been fit. He has now made himself undroppable. Thanks for tuning in today. Until next time, this is Deivarayan Muthu signing off on the behalf of Andrew Miller. Take care and cheers

8.40pm No Williamson. No Southee. No Ferguson. No Bracewell. No problem for NZ as they dispatch defending champions England in Ahmedabad. After winning the toss, NZ limited England's power-packed line-up to 282 for 9, thanks in no small part to Mitch Santner and Matt Henry. Sam Curran then struck with his first ball to dismiss Will Young for a duck in NZ's chase, but Conway and Ravindra struck up a stunning stand to smash England's attack. Conway made a career-best 152* while Ravindra become NZ's youngest World Cup centurion at 23. Stay locked in for the post-match presentation.

Rachin Ravindra, Player of the Match: Sometimes it's unbelievable at times, but great to have a great day out. The bowlers bowled well and lucky enough to have Devon out there. I spent a lot of time with Dev and we are very, very close mates. I was little more comfortable and I have a lot of chat with Dev - being able to do that in the middle is cool. For sure, if you asked us four-five years, we all knew the kind of player Dev would become. The surface was very good and lovely to bat on, similar to the warm-up game in Hyderabad.

Jos Buttler, England captain: Disappointing day. Very much outplayed by NZ and tough defeat to take. It's still one loss in a long tournament. I think a lot of guys in our team have played a lot of cricket - we won't be too down on ourselves and won't be too high on the other side. I thought we were well below par. We were aiming for somewhere around 330 and it [the pitch] somewhat played better under lights. We just lacked being clinical with your execution. Some of the dismissals were right shots but not executed properly. I think NZ played some great cricket shots and got great value for them. Devon Conway - can't think of massive shots but he scored quickly. Him and Rachin put together a fantastic partnership and we were well beaten. I think the pitch skidded on better under lights but we played a long way short of our best. Don't think there's any question around Root. He's been our best player in our team for a long while. We will wait and see (on Ben Stokes?). Fingers crossed, he can get fit as soon as possible.

Tom Latham, NZ captain: Obviously, a fantastic partnership between Rachin and Devon. From the 30-over mark onwards, to restrict them to 280 was fantastic. It has been a quick build-up - the warm-ups and guys from Bangladesh. We've played a bit in these conditions and I thought we adapted to these conditions beautifully. The two seamers - Henners and Boulty - did a great job and took wickets at crucial times. To restrict them to 280 was outstanding. Probably, the most pleasing thing was Devon and Rachin just reacted to what was being bowled. Rachin played a fantastic innings and proud of him. Looking forward to get around him tonight.

Mitch Santner speaks to Star Sports: Obviously, England are a tough opponent and probably a good toss to win. It looked like it skidded on under lights. Hats off to Devon and Rachin. Lockie had soreness and it kind of changed the balance of the team. Rachin made the most of his opportunity and he showed that he's a world-class player. These two love batting together. They do domestically and love it. We've seen Conway's quality for a while and Rachin played well during the warm-ups. They just want to keep batting and batting, which is good for us. I thought we got wickets at crucial times and Matt Henry's wicket of Jos...

Arvind: "Incredible to see Rachin being so articulate and charming after being in the field for 99 overs in this heat...a megastar in the making."

Afeef: "During England's innings, it felt like NZ's fielders are everywhere. While in New Zealand's innings, it feels like England's fielders have disappeared."

8.27pm Hello, again, everyone. Cheers Miller. This has been some partnership from Conway and Ravindra. NZ are just 38 runs away from a memorable win in this WC opener. Can England somehow separate the two Wellington boys?

Well, crumbs. It's been a total and utter pasting. Here's Deiva to apply the gloss finish.

He's the fastest Kiwi to make a World Cup hundred, and he's also the youngest. What a night!