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 the past Trent Boult on Sunday. In The virtual quarterfinal between India vs New Zealand, the fortunes of Kohli’s team will be dependent on how well India’s top order plays Trent Boult and the Kiwi pacer has already sounded warning, “I will try to mirror Shaheen Afridi”.
Why Trent Boult pose a big test for India?
- 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.
On Saturday at the pre-match press conference, he didn’t keep his intentions secret. Boult said he would take a page out of Shaheen Afridi’s book and will look to mirror the feat.
“I suppose it depends on when I get the ball, I am not sure what the plan is with what overs certain bowlers are bowling. The way Shaheen bowled against India was amazing, but yeah India has quality batters, early wickets are the focus for us but we need to be nice and accurate of where we are trying to put the ball. Hopefully, it swings around a little bit and I can mirror what Shaheen did the other night,” said Boult while replying to an ANI query during a virtual pre-match press conference,” Trent Boult said.
“When it comes to ICC events, playing India is always very exciting. When we play India, we want to showcase out best and we have done so with the right spirit over the years. We are excited and are ready to upset India once again,” he added.
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.
