Aakash Chopra opens up on the Blackcaps' stunning performance against England

Former India player Aakash Chopra feels that New Zealand have taken their revenge on England for the heartbreaking loss in the 2019 ODI World Cup final with a thumping win in the 2023 ODI World Cup campaign opener as well. New Zealand, however, registered a nine-wicket win at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday as well.

Notably, New Zealand failed to win the trophy by the barest of margins back in 2019 as England won by virtue of a superior boundary count as well. However, the contest as well as the Super Over had finished as a tie and there was nothing to separate the two sides apart from the boundary count as well. Meanwhile, England were the firm favourites in the recent game but the Blackcaps managed to restrict them to 282 before chasing down the total in 36.3 overs as well.

Praising New Zealand’s performance against England, Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel: “It looked like New Zealand took revenge for the 2019 World Cup final loss. I mean, they completely dominated the opposition. England started as one of the favorites, but New Zealand made them look so ordinary.”

However, England’s batters failed to contribute with the bat, with Joe Root and Jos Buttler’s partnership being the only positive as well. Later, bowlers also failed to pick wickets.

Chopra further added: “What are you doing, England? It looked like they expected their reputation to do all the work. They wanted to play aggressive cricket, but it did not transpire on the ground at all. I saw so many poor shots towards the end, take Joe Root’s and Moeen Ali’s dismissal as example.”

“I was a bit skeptical around how Rachin Ravindra would fare against Mark Wood’s pace” – Aakash Chopra

Meanwhile, during the run chase, England dismissed Will Young for a golden duck. But the duo of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra stole the limelight as they added 273 runs for the second wicket to help New Zealand win the game. Conway finished with an unbeaten 152 runs off 121 deliveries while Rachin Ravindra, who was named Player of the Match, scored 123* off 96 deliveries as well.

Aakash Chopra said: “No one hardly rates New Zealand. They hardly play matches in between the two World Cup editions, no one plays big series against them, but they still come through. I was a bit skeptical around how Rachin Ravindra would fare against Mark Wood’s pace, but he was absolutely sensational. He played with maturity, he played under his eyes, close to his body, and he was absolutely brilliant,” he added.