“If you have bazball, baz was from our country”- Social media abuzz with memes after New Zealand HAMMER defending champions England in World Cup opener

23-year-old Rachin Ravindra smacked his ton in his World Cup debut and received the Player of the Match award at the post-match presentation.

“If you have bazball, baz was from our country”- Social media abuzz with memes after New Zealand HAMMER defending champions England in World Cup opener

New Zealand players (Images via X)

Defending champions England experienced a disappointing start to the 2023 ODI World Cup as they got hammered by New Zealand by nine wickets on Thursday (October 5) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Kiwis, with centuries from two batters, easily defeated Jos Buttler and company to chase down a target of 283 within 37 overs.

After winning the toss, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham opted to bowl first. And though England did not have a decent start, the pair of Joe Root and Jos Buttler helped England to lift off the pressure with their attacking cricket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcdsL-jzLwc&pp=ygUUZW5nbGFuZCBuZXcgemVhbGFuZCA%3D

But after their dismissals, England were greatly troubled by the Kiwi bowlers’ economic spells. Mitchell Santner conceded just 37 runs in his full quote of overs and bagged two wickets. Matt Henry was the pick of the bowling attack with three scalps for 48 runs in 10 overs.

Two Kiwi batters here stole the limelight. 23-year-old Rachin Ravindra smacked his ton in his World Cup debut and received the Player of the Match award at the post-match presentation. His knock of an unbeaten 123 off 96 balls included 11 fours and five sixes.

His batting partner and opener Devon Conway top scored for the Kiwis, scoring an unbeaten 152 off 121 balls at a strike rate of 125.62, and in his innings, he smashed 19 fours and three sixes.

Related: WATCH: Jos Buttler asks Babar Azam to translate Rohit Sharma’s Hindi joke about England’s controversial win at 2019 World Cup

Netizens tear apart England after a lackluster performance against New Zealand

At the World Cup stage, fans expected some thrilling performance from England who play Bazball but to the disappointment of many, England failed to produce those. But the netizens were awed by the way New Zealand displayed that they are indeed one of the strong contenders to lift the coveted cup.

"If you have bazball, baz was from our country"- Social media abuzz with memes after New Zealand HAMMER defending champions England in World Cup opener
New Zealand players (Image via X)

Here are their tweets:

https://twitter.com/messinfluence/status/1709930157275005282
https://twitter.com/sri_ashutosh08/status/1709979892937593013

After a disappointing start, England will face Bangladesh on October 10. The Kiwis are scheduled to play their second match on October 9 against the Netherlands.

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