As he scratched his name on the honours board at Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday, Rachin Ravindra spent a good time glancing at the list of centurions.
The 25-year-old opening batter, who has been the centurion for the fifth time in an ODI and helped New Zealand reach the final round of the Champions Trophy, said that traveling back and forth over a few days was challenging, but the team would handle it well.
“It can definitely be challenging, but I think that’s something we pride ourselves on as a group. You have got to deal with the conditions in front of you, and it’s what it is. That’s why we come here early,” Rachin stated.
New Zealand was back in Lahore shortly after finishing off India in the last group league fixture on Sunday. However, the team had already hit the ground running: “That’s why we train and practice what we do at home to try and replicate conditions and think outside the box a wee bit. That’s part of being an international cricketer. You play in so many countries around the world, and especially in a world tournament,” he remarked, adding that prior experiences of playing in Pakistan helped immensely.
“Luckily enough, we’ve played a bit of cricket in Pakistan before, we’ve played a bit of cricket in Dubai, too. So we are able to draw back on those experiences….”
Rachin is yet to plan his final against India, scheduled for next Sunday in Dubai. Kane Williamson, however, wants to “carry the learnings” of the semifinal victory into the final.
“For us, it was nice to have a game there [in Dubai],” Williamson said after scoring a hundred to help Rachin with a 164-run second-wicket partnership.
“The conditions in Dubai are very different to those here. India is an outstanding team and plays very well. Our focus is on that game.”
Williamson characterized the travel between Pakistan and Dubai for matches as “part and parcel of the game” and quipped when asked whether this final would be his last Champions Trophy match: “Regardless of whether it’s my last [game] or not, we want to end it on a high.”
