New Zealand batsman Rachin Ravindra said he is exceeding his own expectations at the World Cup after hitting a second century in the tournament during Saturday's narrow defeat by Australia at Dharamsala.
The 23-year-old announced himself on the World Cup stage with his maiden ton in New Zealand's opening victory over defending champions England before making half-centuries against the Netherlands and hosts India.
His 89-ball 116 against five-time champion Australia took his tally in the tournament to 406 runs and gave the Black Caps a fighting chance before they fell to a five-run defeat chasing 389 in the highest-scoring match in World Cup history.
"Yeah, I guess you probably look at it at the start and be obviously grateful to be here and how things have worked out," Ravindra said when asked whether he had performed better than he expected to in the showpiece.
New Zealand, runners-up at the previous two World Cups, are third in the table and in contention to reach the semi-finals.
Born to Indian parents, Ravindra has enjoyed plenty of support in the country and said the crowd in Dharamsala was among the best he had played in front of.
"As a kid you always dream of the crowd chanting your name and it was cool to see them do that on multiple occasions even when the Australians were batting and also when Jimmy Neesham did his thing at the end," Ravindra said. "I think it's always special, you soak in those moments and hopefully never really take them for granted."
Ravindra has also bowled good left-arm spin so far and is being seen as the most talented young player in the game, capable of succeeding in all formats of the game. Also, his performance in Indian conditions against pace and spin is expected to fetch him top dollars during the IPL auction for the 2024 season.
