Ahmedabad: In the opening match of the Cricket World Cup, England faced a devastating defeat at the hands of New Zealand, losing by nine wickets.
According to official sources, the match played at the stadium in the Indian city of Ahmedabad saw the New Zealand team achieve their target of 283 runs with a loss of just one wicket in the 37th over.
Only two players from New Zealand managed to complete England’s given target. Devon Conway scored 152, and Rachin Ravindra added 123 runs to the total. England’s opening batsmen were dismissed early, with Will Young falling for a duck to the bowling of Sam Curran.
While batting first, England scored 282 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 50 overs. The openers provided a decent start with 40 runs, but David Malan contributed only 14 runs individually. Johnny Bairstow scored 33, Harry Brook added 25, while Moeen Ali scored 11, Captain Jos Buttler made 43, Liam Livingstone contributed 20, and Chris Woakes and Sam Curran were both dismissed for 11 runs each.
England’s star player, Joe Root, resisted the New Zealand bowlers by scoring 77 runs off 86 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six. Matt Henry took 3 wickets for New Zealand, while Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips took 2 each. Trent Boult and Rachin Ravindra claimed one wicket each.
Prior to the match, New Zealand’s captain, Tom Latham, won the toss and decided to field first, stating their intention to begin the event with a victory.