This beating was exposed by an act of impudence. Chris
Woakes’ slower ball was chosen by Rachin Ravindra, who was watching the 2019
World Cup final in a Bengaluru pub, before Woakes even realised he was about to
bowl it. His hind leg gave way like a flamingo’s when Ravindra swung it back
over the bowler’s head for six.
At that point, New Zealand was already cruising to its
nine-wicket victory with a run rate of just over four. Ravindra, however, saw
no reason to slow down as the young player on the pitch displayed the reckless
cricket that is synonymous with England. With 82 balls remaining, New Zealand
sailed home with ease as he flicked the winning run into the leg side.
“A hundred’s always special,” he said.
“But in terms of being able to perform in India, it is pretty cool. It was
nice to have my parents there watching: they flew over from New Zealand. It was
cool to have that moment and it’s always nice coming to India – there’s a sense
of a family connection whenever I’m in Bangalore, being able to see my
grandparents.”
Ravindra’s initial participation in this game could
scarcely have gone worse nearly six hours earlier. He was asked to bowl the
17th over, and he began his spell with six back-of-a-length balls. The third,
fourth, and fifth of them went for four, four, and six respectively, as Harry
Brook rocked back and smashed him over midwicket. The relief on Ravindra’s face
when Brook sent his sixth ball to Conway in the deep was evident.
He has always
been largely used in the middle of the order and has been pushed to improve his
bowling by New Zealand, despite the fact that he has always been a top-order
batsman first and a left-arm spinner second.
He was able to move up the order due to the
circumstances. When Will Young wasn’t available for the exhibition match
against Pakistan in Hyderabad, Ravindra filled in as the opener and scored 97
off 72 balls. A opening at No. 3 resulted from Kane Williamson not being risked
as he continues to recuperate from an ACL tear, and Ravindra was more than glad
to fill the position.
After being given the go-ahead to attack, Ravindra
launched his assault with a classic one-two, lashing Chris Woakes’ half-volley
wide of mid-on for four before dragging his overcorrection through midwicket. He
had 38 off 23 balls when he smashed Mark Wood’s 92 mph/149 kph bouncer over
square leg and timed Sam Curran through mid-off.
Moeen Ali had the final over of the first powerplay
when Jos Buttler went to spin, but it had no effect. In order to reach a 36-ball
half-century, Ravindra blasted a floating offbreak into the same area after
dumping his drag-down over wide long-on and into the lower tier. He shifted
down a gear and found cruising speed for the majority of the middle overs while
playing second fiddle to Conway.
The fastest century in New Zealand’s World Cup history
was reached by Conway in 83 balls. When he embraced Ravindra after reaching
three figures in 82, his record had only stood for around 15 minutes.
For New Zealand, Ravindra has been a long-term
project. He made his first-class and List A debuts for New Zealand A, not
Wellington, and played in his first Under-19 World Cup at the age of 16.
However, without the talent, the tenacity, and the poise that support it, all
they have put in him would be for naught.
This was an inning for the dreamers; it preserved the
notion that a young man might leave the game on the biggest night of his career
and treat the world champions with contempt rather than deference. Rachin
Ravindra was that young man last evening.