The opening game of the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup got off to a sedate start with lots of empty seats in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on a hot Thursday afternoon.

New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. Both teams went in with a batting-heavy line-up. Jonny Bairstow scored the first runs of the World Cup with pickup six off his pads on the second ball of the game off Boult.

At the other end, Matt Henry was consistently troubling Dawid Malan before eventually getting him to nick off to the wicketkeeper to hand New Zealand their first breakthrough. Bairstow was going great guns at the other end, with England having reached 51-1 after the first 10 overs.

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Joe Root, who has not been in good ODI form for a while now, looked to settle in, scoring six runs off his first 11 balls before he felt he had enough. Bowling from round the wicket, Boult delivered a length ball outside off which Root met with his trademark, open-stance reverse scoop over the slip cordon for six, getting him going in his innings.

Bairstow was dismissed in the next over. He tried playing the inside out to Mitchell Santner but ended up playing it in the hands of long-off, cutting short a promising innings for just 33 off 35 balls.

By the end of the 15th over, England’s score read 73-2 with Root batting on 18 off 23 and Harry Brook batting on six of eight.

Watch Joe Root reverse scoop Trent Boult for a six early in his innings on the opening day of the 2023 World Cup:

 

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