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After a stunning manifestation of his talent with an unbeaten 123, New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra on Thursday said he did not expect to bat at No. 3, but coming out at that position gave him the freedom to play with aggression.
Ravindra's 123 and Devon Conway's 152 not out powered New Zealand to a nine-wicket victory over champions England in the World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.
“That was an interesting one when Gary (Stead, NZ coach) told me (about batting at No 3). I guess I wasn't necessarily expecting it as much because we bat seriously low with (Mitchell Santner) at No 9 and he's a genuine all-rounder,” he said.
“I guess it gave that license to go out and express yourself, we did it in our way, and luckily enough it worked on the day,” Ravindra said during the post-match press meet.
However, Ravindra said he was mentally prepared for batting up the order because of his experience of opening for his domestic side – Wellington.
“I'm pretty lucky that I was able to get the chance to bat at three. It is a bit familiar being able to be at the top and I guess when you've done it for a while for Wellington, it feels at home,” said the left-hander.
Ravindra said he would cherish the record-breaking unbroken 273-run partnership with his friend and teammate Devon Conway for the second wicket.
“Dev's an absolutely incredible and special player. I think being able to share the pitch with him was pretty cool.
“He just demonstrated his class throughout his knock. Some of the shots he was hitting, put that wow look on your face,” Ravindra added.
Giving a rather deeper picture of his bond with Conway, Ravindra said: “I guess I've spent a lot of time with (Conway) over the last five-six years and seeing how he's risen to one of the best batters in the world. It's pretty cool to share that milestone with him,” he said.
Ravindra, who scored his maiden ton in his 13th ODI, termed the knock as special.
“I think the first one (century) is pretty special. It was pretty cool to be able to share that with Devon, my sort of good mate. But yeah, it was a good game for us as a team,” Ravindra said.