"He's got 31 Test hundreds for my one so I'm not giving that one" - Rachin Ravindra declines sharing Player of the Match award with Kane Williamson
New Zealand's young sensation Rachin Ravindra bluntly refused to share his Player of the Match award with star batter Kane Williamson during the presentation after the first Test against South Africa.
Ravindra scored a sensational 240 in New Zealand's first innings score of 511 and shared a game-changing 232-run third wicket partnership with Williamson. It was his maiden Test century, and the all-rounder became only the fourth Kiwi batter to convert a first Test ton into a double hundred. Meanwhile, Williamson became only the fifth New Zealand cricketer to score centuries in both innings of a Test with his 118 and 109.
When asked if he would like to share the Player of the Match award with the champion batter at the post-match presentation, Ravindra said:
"Nah, not at all. He's got 31 Test hundreds for my one so I'm not giving that one. Any time you contribute to the win it makes you feel special. As long as you're giving your best you're made to feel you belong and it's driven well by the coaching staff."
Rachin Ravindra also responded to whether his subdued celebrations were the Kane Williamson influence, saying:
"He's the influence so I guess that's how it turned out."
Ravindra had previously spoken several times about his admiration for Kane Williamson's batting accomplishments. The champion batter continued to rewrite the record books with his 31st Test century.
New Zealand were struggling at 39/2 in their first innings when Ravindra and Williamson bailed them out of trouble. They dominated the rest of the contest and eventually won by a massive 281 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
"I'll rate this knock pretty high" - Rachin Ravindra
Rachin Ravindra rated the double century in the first Test among his best knocks because of the time spent in the middle, building key partnerships.
Apart from the 232-run stand with Williamson, the southpaw was involved in a century stand with Daryll Mitchell and added 82 with Glenn Phillips.
"Feels good in any capacity to contribute to team victory, how difficult it is to be out there for four-five days and get the job done. I'll rate this knock pretty high because of the time we spent out there and the partnerships we put out there for this win," said Ravindra at the presentation.
In addition to his batting heroics, Ravindra also picked up two wickets in the first innings, including the wicket of a well-set Keegan Petersen for 45.
The teams will move to Sedan Park at Hamilton for the second Test, starting on February 13.