Rachin Ravindra, along with Devon Conway, helped New Zealand kick start their 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign on a high as they beat reigning England by 9 wickets in the curtain raiser.
Ravindra remained not out at 123 off 96 balls as New Zealand chased down 283 runs in just 36.2 overs. Devon Conway too remained unbeaten at 152 off 121 balls.
With the ball, the Indian-origin-Kiwi international was expensive as he leaked 76 runs in 10 overs but he managed to get rid of dangerous Harry Brook for just 25 runs.
Ravindra became only the 4th New Zealand batter to score a century on his World Cup debut and also hit the fastest World Cup century as a Kiwi batter.
Since then, he has hit two more centuries in the tournament, becoming the first batter to smash three hundreds in his debut World Cup.
Who is Rachin Ravindra?
Ravindra was born on November 18, 1999, in Wellington, New Zealand. His father Ravi Krishnamurthy hailed from Bengaluru, India, and played club-level cricket in the Garden city. The family relocated to New Zealand in the early 90s.
While word had quickly spread before and during the World Cup that Ravindra's first name was blend of 'Rahul' and 'Sachin' for Indian legends Dravid and Tendulkar respectively, this is apparently not the case.
In a recent interview with The Print, Krishnamurthy clarified this point, saying,
When Rachin was born, my wife suggested the name, and we didn’t spend a lot of time discussing it.
The name sounded good, was easy to spell, and short, so we decided to go with it. It was only some years later that we realised the name was a mix of Rahul and Sachin’s names. He wasn’t named with the intention to make our child a cricketer or anything of the sort.
The all-rounder was part of the New Zealand squads at the 2016 and 2018 U19 World Cups. After the 2018 World Cup, Ravindra was selected for the New Zealand A side and made his List A debut against Pakistan A in 2018.
At the domestic level, he plays for Wellington Firebirds and also represents Durham County Cricket Club in England's county cricket.
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What is Rachin Ravindra's bowling & and batting style?
Ravindra is a genuine all-rounder. He is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and of late has been batting in the top order. Against England, on his World Cup debut, Ravindra came out to bat at number 3 and scored his maiden ODI and World Cup century.
Ravindra has been a wicket-taker for New Zealand in the ODI format. He has taken 13 wickets in as many ODI matches thus far and has scored 312 runs at an average of 39.
When did Rachin Ravindra make his New Zealand debut?
Ravindra played his first match for New Zealand against Sri Lanka on March 25, 202. The all-rounder did not get a chance to bowl but he scored 49 off 52 balls. His consistent performance over the last few months prompted the selectors to choose him in the Kiwi for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
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How did Rachin Ravindra perform on his New Zealand debut?
Ravindra did not bowl on his ODI debut and came out to bat at number 7. He missed on his maiden half-century by a whisker as he was dismissed at 49. New Zealand eventually were bowled out for 274.
They defended their total comfortably as Henry Shipley's fifer helped them bowl out the Lankans for just 76 runs.
What are Rachin Ravindra's ODI batting numbers?
| Year | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | High Score | 100s | 50s |
| 2023 | 20 | 16 | 712 | 47.47 | 108.54 | 123* | 3 | 3 |
What are Rachin Ravindra's ODI bowling numbers?
| Year | Matches | Innings | Runs Conceded | Wickets | Economy | Best Figures |
| 2023 | 20 | 16 | 719 | 15 | 6.15 | 4/60 |
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