Ahmedabad: The excitement is sky high as the 13th ODI World Cup gets underway at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium. The inaugural match will witness the 2019 World Cup finalists, with England and New Zealand facing off.
Despite the absence of traditional celebrations, the live event is scheduled for 2 p.m., attracting eminent personalities eager to witness the opening match. Notably, this World Cup marks the first time that the tournament is entirely hosted in India.
Both teams’ skippers are grappling with injury concerns, with uncertainties surrounding the participation of key players such as Ben Stokes for England and Kane Williamson for New Zealand. In Williamson’s absence, Tom Latham will lead the Kiwis in the opening match.
The historical head-to-head record between England and New Zealand is marked by equality, with both teams winning 44 matches each in their 95 encounters. Additionally, three matches ended in ties, and four concluded with no result. England holds a recent victory, having won the final match of the 2019 ODI World Cup at Lord’s by a convincing margin of 100 runs.
Interestingly, it was against New Zealand in 2015 that England breached the 400-run barrier for the first time in an ODI. Since then, England has surpassed the 400-run mark on four occasions, with the highest total of 498 against the Netherlands in 2022. Kane Williamson, with 983 runs from 20 matches, stands as the only one of the three highest scorers against England in the New Zealand squad.
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