IND vs NZ: Rachin Ravindra Breaks Sachin Tendulkar's Long-Standing Record As New Zealand Keep Their First Foot In The Semi Final

New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Thursday and moved a step closer to the World Cup semi-finals. Rachin Ravindra continued his dream form and contributed to the team’s victory with a solid inning scoring 42 runs.

New Zealand rode on an opening stand between Devon Conway (45) and Ravindra to achieve the target of a meager 172 runs with 160 balls to spare in Bengaluru. During his knock against Sri Lanka, Rachin Ravindra registered two huge records to his name.

The young batting sensation from New Zealand now holds the record for scoring the most runs in a maiden World Cup campaign,  surpassing the record held by England’s Jonny Bairstow who scored 532 runs in the 2019 World Cup. Rachin Ravindra surpassed the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring the most runs in a World Cup edition under the age of 25. Sachin scored 523 runs in the 1996 World Cup when his age was 22.

Rachin Ravindra is currently the top-scorer of the tournament with 565 runs to his name in nine innings with an average of 70.62. Apart from these 565 runs, he also has two wickets to his name and that makes him a big contender for the Player of The Tournament.

New Zealand Has Almost Sealed Their Semi-Final Spot

After their win against Sri Lanka, New Zealand has almost sealed the fourth spot for themselves. The Kiwis retain their fourth position with 10 points to their name ahead of Pakistan and Afghanistan who are still at 8 and a much superior net run rate than both of them.

For either Pakistan or Afghanistan to qualify, they need to win their respective matches with England and South Africa by an improbable margin. Pakistan need to beat England by a margin of 275 runs or chase the target in 2.3 overs in order to get a spot in the semi-finals.

New Zealand’s win against Sri Lanka was after four consecutive losses. The win has given a lot of confidence to the Blackcaps as they prepare to face the undefeated India in the Semi-Finals. New Zealand has beaten India in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup and they can repeat the results given their record against India in ICC events. The Men In Blue were able to pull off a victory against the Blackcaps in the league match, but the semi-finals will be a different ball game.