Hopefully I can mirror what Shaheen did the other night against India: Trent Boult

New Zealand is all set to face India in their upcoming fixture of the T20 World Cup 2021. Ahead of the match the New Zealand pacer Trent Boult has expressed his willingness for making a larger impact on the game. He asserted that he is aiming to replicate what the Pakistan pacer Shaheen Aridi did in their opening fixture against India.

Shaheen exuded his flair by sending both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul early on. He then returned to finish his spell and picked up the big wicket of Virat Kohli. This put the Men in Green in a commanding position wherein they broke India’s 12-match winning streak against them in World Cups and secured a win by ten wickets.

Boult was thus impressed with Afridi’s spell and stated that scalping early wickets will be the major focus for the Black Caps when they take on the Virat Kohli-led side. He also hoped for the playing conditions to favor him in the match.

“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,” Boult said in a pre-match press conference.

India brings a lot of challenges: Trent Boult

Both the teams have lost their previous encounters with Pakistan. Hence, the two sides will be keen on getting to winning ways. A defeat here can hamper their chances of making it to the semi-finals of the tournament. Boult further stated that no matter if the team bowls or bats first, they will need to do it well against a strong India side.

“Whatever we do first, we need to do it well. India brings a lot of challenges, they are a quality side. But with the ball, we just need to be clear in our options on how to shut these people down and obviously give them a bigger chase as possible if we bat first. We look forward to taking it on,” Boult added.