New Zealand has had a strong start to its World Cup 2023 campaign, winning both of their exhibition games against Pakistan and South Africa. The Kiwis maintained their winning streak against England in the opening league match as well thanks to outstanding performances from Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra.
The southpaw is of Indian ancestry, and his intriguing first name, Rachin, is a combination of the names of two renowned cricketers from India: Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Ravindra was born in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, to Deepa and Ravi Krishnamurthy, two Indians who worked as software system architects in Bengaluru. Early in the 1990s, Ravindra's father, who founded the Hutt Hawks Club in New Zealand, relocated there after having previously played the sport in Bengaluru.
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The young person was a member of New Zealand's squads for both the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. In his off-seasons, Ravindra has also participated in Indian soccer. He signed a contract with Wellington during his age-level cricket career, and the same year, he played his first List A match against Pakistan. He earned his first first-class century in the 2019–20 Plunket Shield and his first List A century while playing for Wellington in the 2019–20 Ford Trophy.
In the first warm-up match against Pakistan, Ravindra struck a spectacular 97 (72) while slamming 16 fours and a six in his innings. So far in the competition, Ravindra has looked in imperious form. The 23-year-old kept up his impressive streak in the opening league game as well, looking at his aggressive best and breaking boundaries at will.
In the match against England, Ravindra struck a brilliant hundred and had an important partnership with Devon Conway (152* off 121) that helped his team win by nine wickets. In his innings, Ravindra produced a brilliant 123* (96), smacking 11 fours and five sixes. Notably, the Kiwi cricketer, who hails from India, excelled with the bat in his opening World Cup match.
In addition to being nominated to the New Zealand under-19 Cricket World Cup squads for the 2016 and 2018 competitions, Ravindra attended Hutt International Boys' School in Upper Hutt.
He started the batting in the 2016 tournament alongside Glenn Phillips, who is currently a member of the New Zealand Black Caps. They lost shockingly to Nepal and were eliminated from the competition.
The International Cricket Council named Ravindra the team's up-and-coming talent following the 2018 competition. Only he from the group was selected for the Cricket World Cup team.
He received a contract with Wellington in June 2018 and scored his first List A century against Auckland in 2019. He recorded his first first-class century during the 2020 Plunket Shield season.
After making a century against the visiting West Indies, he was then selected for the 2020 New Zealand A team.
The year after that was significant. He was on the roster for the first World Test Championship final, but he did not play. He subsequently played in a T20 series against Bangladesh before making his test debut in November against India. He didn't play in an ODI for the Black Caps until March 2023 against Sri Lanka, though.
In the 2023 Cricket World Cup's opening game last night, Ravindra became the seventh Kiwi to record a century on his ODI World Cup debut. With only 82 balls needed, it was also the quickest century by a New Zealand player in a World Cup. The fourth-highest partnership in World Cup history was recorded by him and Conway.
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