New Zealand
skipper Kane Williamson lauded young “special talent” Rachin Ravindra and
called him one of the players of the tournament ahead of their crucial World
Cup clash against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The 23-year-old
emerged as a new star for the Kiwis and has made most of the opportunities that
have fallen in his path in the ongoing World Cup.
The left-handed
batter has amassed 523 runs and scored three tons with an average of 74.71 and
is the third-highest run scorer in the ongoing World Cup.
On the eve of the
clash that could potentially decide their chances of qualifying for the
semi-final, Williamson praised the youngster for his overall show not only with
the bat but with the ball as well.
“Yeah. Incredible.
Look, clearly an amazing talent and sort of just entered the side and in the
international arena and to walk into a World Cup and not just any World Cup but
here in India and in a lot of ways come into a role that perhaps when he’s had
exposure in our team, he hasn’t played in that opening sort of top three, top
order spot and do what he’s done is amazing.
We sort of knew
the talent was there, but to come out and repeat and be one of the players of
the tournament so far, not only with the bat, but he’s also making really
valuable contributions with the ball. Yeah, very, very special player and great
that he’s on our side,” Williamson said in the pre-match press conference.
The four
consecutive defeats have put the Blackcaps in a situation that resembles their
situation in the 2019 World Cup. Some teams struggle with pressure under such a
scenario but Williamson feels that the players who have already experienced
such circumstances will look to play the cricket that they want to play and
have in the entire tournament.
“I suppose guys
have had some of those experiences, but it’s another game on another day and
four years later. So, the focus is here and now and, on the conditions, and how
we want to adjust and the cricket that we want to play. And I think that that
is the most important thing. I mean, you have nine pool games.
They’re all as
important as each other. It’s very difficult to try and sort of target which
game means what it’s just every game means something similar. And so, the focus
has to come back to us as a team and the cricket that we want to play. So that’s
what we’ll be trying to do as we’ve been trying to do throughout this
competition and try and make those small improvements like I mentioned,”
Williamson added.
New Zealand squad:
Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson,
Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips,
Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
Sri Lanka Squad:
Kusal Mendis (c), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dimuth
Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva,
Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan
Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne.
ANI
