On Saturday (November 4), New Zealand captain Kane Williamson made a spectacular catch to send Pakistan starter Abdullah Shafique back to the bench during the 2023 World Cup match. The two sides will face off in the 35th match of the 2023 World Cup in Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Pakistan got off to a slow start in their pursuit of 402. They could only score six runs in 1.5 overs, and the strain of the asking rate caught up with Abdullah Shafique, who tried to raise the stakes with a huge shot over the infield against Tim Southee on the following ball.
Shafique attempted to get over covers but was unable to achieve the correct time on the shot. Kane Williamson, who was fielding in mid-off, rushed back quickly and took a spectacular diving catch to give his team an early lead.
Kane Williamson’s catch may be seen in the video below:
Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra Star As New Zealand Make 401/6 Against Pakistan
After being assigned to bat first, New Zealand got off to a strong start, scoring 68 runs in 10.4 overs.
Devon Conway was out on the following delivery, edging to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. Kane Williamson (95) and Rachin Ravindra (108), who built a good basis for their team with a 180-run partnership, then rallied their innings.
Daryl Mitchell (29), Mark Chapman (39), and Glen Phillips (41) also made cameo appearances to lead New Zealand achieve 401/6.
During the mid-innings break, Rachin Ravindra remarked on the play and said:
“It’s pretty surreal to play in the country of my background. Always special to play in India but more so in Bangalore, in front of my family. The wicket is a good one. We thought it was a slow one to start off but it’s good to bat on. Not too much turn there. The way we batted was good.
Rachin Ravindra
He added:
“It’s more about the way we play and understanding that we have a lot more power at the backend. With the likes of Daz, GP and Santner, we know we can make up. They once again showed we can make it up if we need to. We also saw how Kane batted today. We didn’t put a target on it and knew we were going at a good rate. We were lucky enough to post a good total on the board and hopefully, it’s enough.”
Rachin Ravindra