Rachin Ravindra reaches new heights [Source - AP Photos]
In a significant development, Rachin Ravindra made another record to his name as he became the first New Zealand player to amass a total of 250 runs in a single edition of the Champions Trophy. The southpaw achieved this feat during the Final against India in Dubai on Sunday afternoon.
Rachin has got off to a great start to his international career and is regarded as one of the brightest talents for the future. The 25-year-old made his international debut back in September, 2021, and since then he has been a consistent performer for the kiwis, especially in the 50-over-format.
New Zealand's Record Machine
After a record-breaking World Cup in 2023, Rachin continued to set the stage on fire as he has broken many batting records in the ongoing Champions Trophy as well. In three matches before the final, Rachin scored a total of 226 runs with the help of two centuries, including one in the all important semi-final clash against South Africa.
Having said that, he went on to get past the 250-run aggregate in the tournament as he added another brisk 37 in just 29 balls to his tally and gave Blackcaps a positive start in the final. While doing so he surpassed Kane Williamson’s record of scoring most runs (244 runs in 3 matches in 2017) in one edition of the Champions Trophy for New Zealand.
Player | Runs | Year |
---|---|---|
Rachin Ravindra | 263 | 2025 |
Kane Williamson | 244 | 2017 |
Tom Latham | 205 | 2025 |
Roger Twose | 201 | 2000 |
Kane Williamson | 200 | 2025 |
Martin Guptill | 191 | 2009 |
Stephen Fleming | 184 | 2006 |
Table - Most Runs In One Edition Of The Champions Trophy For New Zealand
With that Rachin finished the tournament with 263 runs at an average of 65.75 across four matches he played. Notably, Tom Latham also had a good tournament with the bat and came up the ladder as he scored 205 runs at an average of 51.25, including a century.
India's Bowling Keeps New Zealand In Check In The Final
Coming to the match, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. They got off to a good start with Rachin leading the charge, launching an early surge on the Indian bowlers inside the powerplay. However, the Men In Blue got themselves back in the game with some really tight bowling and scalping regular wickets.
At the time of writing, the Kiwis are 6 down with 212 on the board with four overs to go. Captain Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell are batting in the middle as the pair will look to add as much runs as possible to post a formidable total.