The star player of New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra, expressed his admiration for former Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid following his stunning century against England in the opening game of the 2023 World Cup at Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 5 as well. However, Ravindra came to bat at No.3 and smashed 123* off 96 deliveries to lead his side to a stunning win over the defending champions England.
While chasing 283 for the win, he entered the middle in the second over of the innings and started attacking from the beginning and stitched together an unbeaten 273-run partnership with opening batter Devon Conway to help New Zealand win with almost 14 overs in hand as well.
READ MORE: “Can be the future captain of India” – Kiran More on Ruturaj Gaikwad
At the post-match press conference, when he was asked about being named after Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, Ravindra said: “I think those two are pretty special cricketers. Obviously, I’ve heard a lot of stories and watched a lot of footage and the influence from my parents and the old-school Indian cricketers was pretty cool. Obviously, I idolized Sachin Tendulkar. I think a lot of people did. I think the way he batted and his technique was beautiful to watch.”
However, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid remain the only Indian cricketers to achieve the 10,000-run landmark in both Tests and ODIs as well. Meanwhile, during his stunning knock, Rachin Ravindra became one of only 16 players to score a century on his World Cup debut whereas he also became the third youngest overall and the youngest from New Zealand to score a World Cup hundred as well. Rachin Ravindra will next be seen in action when New Zealand play against the Netherlands in Hyderabad on Monday, October 9.
READ MORE: Virat Kohli shares the importance of maintaining diet
“I guess being lefty, there’s guys you look at, I love Lara, I love Sangakkara, just the usual gun left-handers, but Tendulkar was definitely the idol. A hundred is always special, but I guess in terms of being able to perform in India is pretty cool. So, it’s cool to have that moment and obviously it’s always nice coming to India I have a sense of family connection whenever I’m in Bangalore and being able to see my grandparents and stuff so yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Rachin Ravindra concluded.
