New Zealand cricketer Rachin Ravindra, along with another Indian-origin teammate Ajaz Patel, stood between India and a win in the first Test match as the Kiwis managed a thrilling draw at Green Park in Kanpur.
Ravindra (18 off 91 balls) and Patel (2 off 23 balls), showed remarkable resilience under fading light and on a deteriorating track to defy India's spinners.
Ravindra, an all-rounder who bowls left-arm spin and made his Test debut for the Black Caps in Kanpur, made headlines before the match for his first name ‘Rachin’ which is inspired by two legendary former Indian batters -- ‘Ra’ from Rahul Dravid’s name and ‘chin’ from Sachin Tendulkar’s name.
Ravindra was born on November 18, 1999, in Wellington after his father, Ravi Krishnamurthy, a software system architect from Bengaluru moved to New Zealand in the 1990s. Krishnamurthy, who played cricket in Bengaluru, founded the Hutt Hawks, a cricket club in New Zealand that takes players on tours to help them expand their experience.
Ravindra’s extended family lives in Jayanagar, a south Bengaluru suburb. While Ravindra often visited India for family holidays in his childhood, since 2011, he has been annually visiting several Indian cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Anantpur on cricket tours, as part of the Hutt Hawks team, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Interestingly, Krishnamurthy has played cricket with the likes of Javagal Srinath and is still in touch with the former India cricketer. Ravindra, who calls Srinath ‘Sri uncle’, often visits him when in Bengaluru.
The 22-year-old made his first appearance for New Zealand’s senior team in September, 2021, against Bangladesh in a T20I series. Unfortunately in his debut match, Ravindra could not make an impression as he went for a golden duck and failed to get a wicket. However, the youngster made a comeback with his bowling in the second T20I as he bagged three wickets for 22 runs in four overs.
In total, he has played six T20Is for the Black Caps.
Before coming on the international stage, Ravindra has played for New Zealand at various levels, including first-class and under 19.
At 16, he was the youngest player in the New Zealand team at the Under-19 World Cup 2016 in Bangladesh. He also played in the 2018 edition of the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand and emerged as a promising all-rounder.
He made his first class debut in October, 2018, against Pakistan A and has so far scored 1,626 runs in 29 matches with an average of 38.71. He also has three tons and 10 half-centuries in his first class tally. Ravindra has taken 25 wickets in 29 first-class games.
Source: ESPNcricinfo
