Ravindra breaks Tendulkar's 27-year-old World Cup record
Rachin Ravindra's stellar 2023 World Cup campaign continued on Saturday as he smashed a third century against Pakistan in Bengaluru.
New Zealand have the knack of producing unheralded superstars in World Cups. It's Rachin Ravindra for the 2019 runner-up this time as the all-rounder continued his stellar form in the tournament in India to smash his third century, this time against Pakistan, in what is a virtual quarterfinal clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. The left-handed batter notched up a scintillating 108 off 94 and with the knock shattered "idol" Sachin Tendulkar's unique 27-year-old World Cup record.
Ravindra has been a revelation for New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup, having scored three centuries in what is his debut campaign in the showpiece event. He had earlier scored an unbeaten 123 against England in the tournament opener last month in Ahmedabad before notching up 116 against five-time winners Australia in Dharamsala last week. Ravindra also has two half-century scores to his name - 51 against Netherlands and 75 against India.
On Saturday, as New Zealand looked to retain their hold over the fourth spot in the points table, Ravindra played a stunning knock, en route to which he became the third batter from New Zealand to scored 500 or more runs in a single World Cup edition, joining Kane Williamson, who had amassed 578 runs in 2019, and Martin Guptill, who has scored 547 runs in 2015.
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The century, meanwhile, put Ravindra atop in New Zealand cricket history as no other batter from the country has ever managed three centuries in a single edition. Glenn Turner (1975), Guptill (2015) and Williamson (2019) have all scored two hundreds apiece. The tally of three tons is also the most by scored by a New Zealand batter overall in World Cup history.
However, the record that stood out in the 23-year-old's magnificent knock on Saturday was going past the legendary Tendulkar. The New Zealand star now remains the only batter to have three World Cup centuries to his name before turning 24. Tendulkar had two to his name, both scored in the 1996 World Cup - 127* against Kenya and 137* against Sri Lanka.
Ravindra's 108, along with Williamson's 95 helped New Zealand set up a mighty total of 401 for six against Pakistan.
