1st ODI: Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell smash tons as New Zealand seal big win over England | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell scored exceptional centuries as New Zealand clinched a commanding eight-wicket triumph over England in the inaugural one-day International held in Cardiff last Friday, further enhancing their preparations for the impending World Cup in India.
England, who were inserted to bat at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens, amassed a total of 291-6, propelled by half-centuries from Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Liam Livingstone.
New Zealand’s pursuit of the target began strongly, with Will Young and Henry Nicholls making significant contributions. Subsequently, Conway (111 off 121 balls) and Mitchell (118 off 91) combined to create a remarkable partnership of 180 runs.

Once both batsmen notched up their centuries, they accelerated their scoring, and Conway ultimately sealed the victory emphatically with a powerful six straight down the ground.
“Pretty happy with way things went, nice to spend time in the middle and get the win,” Conway said.
“The communication in the partnerships were great. I always enjoy batting with Daryl, we complement each other well. It made my job easy, just getting him on strike. Long may it continue.”
England had started well as Harry Brook (25) and Malan (54) stitched together an opening partnership of 80.
After the openers departed in the span of just five balls, Stokes, who reversed his retirement from ODI cricket ahead of England’s title defence at the 50-overs World Cup in India, stepped in to score 52 and keep the momentum going.

Captain Buttler (72) and Livingstone (52) then combined for 77, but after the two were dismissed by Tim Southee in the same over, England’s tail was unable to take them past 300.
“Disappointing. Thought we had a pretty good score at halfway… Credit to them, it was a fantastic partnership and we couldn’t find a way to break it,” Buttler said.

“We tried most things, for a little period we built pressure and pushed the rate to just under seven, but Daryl Mitchell played some big shots and took it away from us. Brilliant partnership.”
Though the hosts had some strong batting performances, they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Rachin Ravindra was the pick of New Zealand’s bowlers, picking up three wickets for 48, his best figures so far in his fledgling ODI career.
The second match of the four-game series will be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Sunday.
(With inputs from Reuters)