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On Monday, New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra added another feather to his cap, scoring his first double century in Test cricket. Batting against South Africa at Mount Maunganui, the 24-year-old reached the milestone on the second day of the first match of the two-match series to help New Zealand cross the 400-run mark in the first innings.
Ravindra worked a single to score Proteas captain Neil Brand midway through the second session at Mount Maunganui to reach the milestone.
Interestingly, Ravindra’s previous highest score in the longest format was 18, which he scored twice, both against India on the 2021 tour. Former West Indies cricketer-turned-commentator Ian Bishop had high praise for the young man for performing a commendable blow.
“The youngster playing in his seventh Test innings, went from a previous highest score of 18 to 200+. Rachin Ravindra, fill your boots,” Bishop posted on X.
The double century enhances Ravindra’s reputation after gaining international attention in last year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in India, where he scored centuries against England, Australia and Pakistan. With 578 runs in 10 matches, he finished as number 4th-Highest run-getter of the tournament after Virat Kohli (765 runs), Rohit Sharma (597 runs) and Quinton de Kock (594).
Ravindra, who plays only the 4th The test of his career, he showed a promising performance with the bat after the hosts lost the first two matches on Day 1. He joined captain Kane Williamson in the middle to punish South Africa to an unbeaten 219-run stand, guiding the local team. at 258-2 at stumps.
“The way I bat is natural, if it’s there I hit it, but on that surface I had to be much more selective. Kane gave me the perfect template for how to do it. Being able to learn from him throughout the partnership was fantastic,” Ravindra said.