Shot of the Day- Joe Root's Reverse-Scoop Masterpiece - ENG vs NZ 1st ODI World Cup 2023 Match- Watch

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 finally got underway on Thursday, October 05 as England and New Zealand locked horns in the curtain raiser of the tournament. New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and invited England to bat first. The decision was vindicated by Matt Henry who got rid of opener Dawid Malan in the eighth over of the innings.

Malan’s dismissal brought England’s most reliable batter, Joe Root, to the crease who wasted no time in getting himself going. Facing just the 12^th ball of his innings, Root unleashed the most extravagant shot from his repertoire as he reverse-scooped Trent Boult for a massive six over third man. The shot left everyone at the stadium gasping as Root announced himself on the World Cup stage.

Watch Joe Root's Reverse-Scoop shot here:

Joe Root Arrived in Wc 🔥 with his Trademark Shot #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/4h87w7icXU

— Sam𝕏 (@ROHITKU67268135) October 5, 2023

Earlier in the innings, Jonny Bairstow got the World Cup off to a sensational start as he flicked the second ball of the tournament for a six against Trent Boult. Furthermore, he drove the fifth ball of the over down the ground for a boundary to get 12 runs from the first over of the tournament.

ALSO Check: ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 Schedule

Bairstow went on to score 33 (35) with the help of four fours and a six in his innings before losing his wicket to Mitchell Santner in the 13^th over. Following his dismissal, Harry Brook walked in at number four and began scoring freely. However, he played one shot too many in his innings and got caught at deep mid-wicket by Devon Conway.

Joe Root scores 37th ODI fifty

The 24-year-old departed for 25 (16) leaving his side on 94/3 after 17 overs. Moeen Ali also failed to go big and lost his stumps against Glenn Phillips leaving England reeling at 118/4 after 21.2 overs. A 70-run stand between Joe Root and Jos Buttler (43 off 42) stabilised the England innings.

But the duo couldn’t continue for long as Matt Henry got rid of Buttler making him edge one straight to wicketkeeper Tom Latham. England were 221/5 after 38 overs with Joe Root (72* off 77) and Liam Livingstone (20* off 17) at the crease.

Also Check: Most Runs in ODI World Cup 2023