On this day in 2017 – Boult skittles Windies with best ODI figures

The left-handed genius from Rotorua, Trent Boult is arguably the best bowler in the ODI format and is placed at number 1 position in the ICC ODI Ranking for bowlers. Since his debut on the big stage in 2012 against West Indies, Boult has picked 169 scalps in 93 ODIs so far, at a stunning economy of 4.99.

Boult has always been a gun bowler for New Zealand and has rattled the opposition with his pace and consistency in the 50-overs format. The pacer produced his best ODI spell in the second game of the three-match ODI series against West Indies on December 23, 2017 in Christchurch. Trent was too hot to handle for the West Indies with the new cherry towards the end of the innings that day. The visiting batsmen succumbed to a nightmarish defeat.

As it happened

The game commenced with visiting captain Jason Holder winning the toss and electing to bowl first. On the back of a scintillating 83 scored by Henry Nicholls, the Black Caps managed to put up a mammoth total of 325/6 in their 50 overs. George Worker and Ross Taylor also made significant contributions by adding 58 and 57 runs respectively.

Chasing a massive target of 326, West Indies were jolted owing to the impressive bowling by Boult as he cleaned up both the opening batsmen Evin Lewis and Kyle Hope within his first two overs. Boult had three for six after his first three overs as the West Indies fell apart at the start of their chase.

The second coming

After his opening spell, Boult returned in the 10th over to give a breakthrough to his team by scalping the wicket of Shai Hope, who was playing on 23. After the heroics of Boult, Lockie Ferguson plucked out the wickets in the middle overs as he went all guns blazing on the opposition’s feeble middle-order. Ferguson picked three wickets in 10 deliveries, including Jason Mohammed and Rovman Powell with successive balls.

This was followed by Boult displaying his class towards the end by picking the wickets of tail-enders Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell and Shannon Gabriel. West Indies witnessed a horrible collapse as they were bundled out for 121 within 28 overs. The West Indies team suffered an annihilation on the New Zealand soil courtesy of Trent Boult as he produced the best-ever bowling figures of his ODI career, 10-3-34-7.