The Shaheen Afridi episode with his swinging yorkers is still fresh in Virat Kohli & Co’s minds. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli all will be subjected to test by another left arm pacer & their nemesis in past Trent Boult on Sunday. In The virtual quarterfinal between India vs New Zealand, fortunes of Kohli’s team will be dependent on how well India’s top order plays Trent Boult?
- The Kiwi fast bowler may have struggled in the IPL 2021 Phase 2 in the UAE but India should BEWARE of his records.
- His venomous swinging yorkers troubled India in the WTC Final and in New Zealand.
- He was also lethal in the Test series in 2020.
- Boult has scalped 71 wickets in 26 matches in all formats against India.
- Out of the 71, 51 wickets have come against right-hand batsmen.
Indian batters will face Trent Boult after being blown away by another left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi, who scalped both openers in his first two overs. While skipper Virat Kohli held the fort with a valiant half-century, he too fell victim to the Pakistani left-arm pacer.
Interestingly, in the 24 deliveries of Afridi, there were 13 dot balls. Thus, it indicates, 21-year-old was not easy to handle for India.
Even though Trent Boult struggled in IPL 2021 Phase 2 with just five wickets in seven matches for Mumbai Indians, he had an impeccable record in IPL 2020 returning with 25 wickets in 15 matches, leading MI to their 5th title.
He returned with 1/29 against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in the last match but his record against India will keep him in good stead.
- Trent Boult has scalped 71 wickets in 35 matches in all formats combined.
- Amongst the 71, 51 has come against India’s right-handers.
- Against Trent Boult, India’s dot ball percentage in T20Is is at a staggering 38.3%, in ODIs that goes up to 62.4, showing India’s struggle against Boult’s speed.
- Trent Boult may not have Shaheen Afridi’s height but his perfect yorkers and death-overs bowling should be a cause for concern.
- Against India’s Top 3 (Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli), Trent Boult has a great record, dismissing them 15 times across all formats.
- Trent Boult vs India’s Top 3: Rohit Sharma: 8 times, Virat Kohli: 6 times, KL Rahul: 1
- India’s batsmen including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma have struggled against left-arm pacers.
- Amongst them, Rohit Sharma has fallen victim to left-arm pacers the most — 14 times. He is followed by Suryakumar Yadav (T20s) and Virat Kohli at 10 times.
