Birthday special: Trent Boult – Top 3 performances in international cricket
On July 22, 1989, the cricketing world was blessed with one of the strongest exponents of the art of swing as New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult was born. Boult announced himself in the international arena during a Test against Australia in December 2011 at Hobart. Since then, the left-arm seamer has represented his country in 78 Tests, 99 ODIs and 55 T20Is and has picked 578 wickets across formats. As the Kiwi swing master turns 34, let’s take a look at his top three performances in international cricket:
3) 6/32 vs England, 1st Test, Auckland, March 2018
Captain Kane Williamson won the toss and threw the ball to his new ball warriors Trent Boult and Tim Southee. The duo didn’t disappoint as they picked ten wickets between them to bundle out England for just 58. Boult was the pick of the bowlers with his spell of 6/32. He further picked up 3/67 in the second innings and helped his side win the match by an innings and 49 runs. The left-arm seamer was deservedly awarded Player of the Match for his nine-wicket haul.
2) 5/17 vs Pakistan, 3rd ODI, Dunedin, January 2018
Chasing a target of 258, Pakistan were hopeful of saving the series after being 0-2 down. However, little did they know that Boult was ready to charge in at them from the other end. Pakistan’s batters had no answers to his ‘thunderbolts’ as he dismantled their batting with his sensational spell of 5/17 in 7.2 overs. As a result, Pakistan were all out for just 74, their joint-third lowest score in ODIs, and New Zealand won the match by 183 runs. Boult was deservedly awarded Player of the Match.
1) 2/42 vs India, 2019 World Cup first semi-final, 9-10 July 2019, Manchester
Defending a score of 239 in a high-pressure game against the famed batting line up of India was an uphill task. However, Boult was up for the challenge as he first set his eyes on the biggest scalp of the Indian team, Virat Kohli. Boult first got Kohli in the third over of the match and later returned in the 48th over to dismiss the well-set Ravindra Jadeja (77 off 59). The wicket helped New Zealand beat India by 18 runs and seal a spot in the World Cup final for the second consecutive time.
