NZ vs NED: Rahul Dravid Hilariously Responds To Questions On Rachin Ravindra's Name

Rachin Ravindra has become the talk of the town after lighting up the World Cup opener against England. Playing his first-ever ODI World Cup game, the New Zealand youngster scored a sensational century to fire his side to a thumping 9-wicket win over the defending champions at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Chasing 282, New Zealand made a disastrous start as opener Will Young was dismissed for a duck. With captain Kane Williamson not playing, the Black Caps were under huge pressure. However, Rachin Ravindra came up with a brilliant knock to help his side begin its campaign with a win.

He scored his fifty in just 36 balls and went on to score an unbeaten 123 off just 93 balls. His knock was studded with 11 fours and five sixes. The southpaw also shared an unbeaten stand of 273 runs with opener Devon Conway who remained not out on 152.

Rahul Dravid praises Rachin Ravindra:

Rachin Ravindra is receiving praise from all corners and India head coach Rahul Dravid has also joined the bandwagon. The New Zealand star, who has Indian origins, is named after two of India’s greatest batters – Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

And Rahul Dravid came up with a hilarious comment while praising the Kiwi batsman. He joked that Rachin Ravindra’s batting has a heavy influence on Sachin Tendulkar and less of him.

“Watching him bat yesterday, he hit five sixes… Maybe it was more ‘chin’ that was there. Not sure, I hit the ball off the square at all. I couldn’t hit the ball off the square at all. Maybe the Sachin in it helped him certainly,” said the ever-modest Rahul Dravid.

I thought both of them played really well. Obviously got New Zealand off to a really flying start in the tournament and looked like the wicket really became a good one as the game went on. And yeah, both of them batted really well,” he added.

Rahul Dravid will now be hoping that Team India also make a similar start in the World Cup. The Men in Blue will launch their campaign in the competition on Sunday (October 8). They are scheduled to take on five-time World Cup winners Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.