New Zealand's latest batting sensation Rachin Ravindra proved yet again that he is one for the future as the southpaw scored his maiden Test double hundred while batting against South Africa on day 2 of the 1st Test at Bay Oval in Maunganui.
Ravindra had already scored his hundred before the start of play on day two as he finished unbeaten on 118 at the end of day one alongside Kane Williamson. While Williamson could only add six more to his overnight score of 112, Ravindra carried on his merry ways to notch up a thunderous double century.
Ravindra scaled the milestone in the 130th over of New Zealand's innings as he played a cut off the South African skipper Neil Brand in the deep.
Notably, Ravindra has become the second-youngest Kiwi to score a double hundred in the longest format of the game.
The 24-year-old surpassed Williamson to claim the honours and is only behind Matthew Sinclair who is still the youngest New Zealand player to score a Test double hundred.
Sinclair recorded the feat while playing against West Indies in December 1999 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. He scored 214 runs off 447 balls and was the main contributor to New Zealand's comprehensive victory by an innings and 105 runs.
Ravindra's double century is also the first double hundred by any New Zealand batter in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2023-25. It is also the highest individual score by any player in the ongoing WTC cycle as he went past Yashasvi Jaiswal's 209 which came a few days ago.
The Wellington-born finished with 240 right next to his name - the highest score for a maiden Test century by any Kiwi batter. The previous best was Sinclair's 214 against the Windies at Basin Reserve in 1999. In addition to that, Ravindra is the fourth Blackcaps batter to convert his maiden Test ton into a double hundred after Martin Donnelly, Matthew Sinclair, and Devon Conway.
