New Zealand pacer Trent Boult said that Shaheen Afridi bowled amazingly against India, and he is looking forward to replicating what the Pakistan pacer did in Dubai when the Black Caps face Team India in their next game in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday (October 31).
India and New Zealand both will enter the contest after suffering a loss against Pakistan in their opening games in the Super 12 stages of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE.
India lost their opening game to Pakistan by 10 wickets last week in Dubai – the same venue where the Kiwis will take on the Men in Blue, and Boult is looking to mirror what Shaheen did with the left-arm pace to trouble the Indian top-order on Saturday.
Boult said during a virtual pre-match press conference: “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.”
The left-arm pacer continued, “Boys are pretty upbeat, excited about the chance of taking on India tomorrow night. Not the best start for us against Pakistan who obviously played some pretty good cricket. Boys are excited and we are looking forward to the challenge that India brings.
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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.”
He also gave an update on Martin Guptill's availability for the India match, after he injured his toe against Pakistan. Boult said: “He is pretty good, he trained fully yesterday. He is definitely a big piece of the puzzle for us at the top of the innings. He is good to go.”
So far in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021, dew has consistently played a big role in the outcome of the matches with the chasing side emerging as the winner most of the time and Boult hopes for an exciting contest against India in Dubai on Sunday.
He signed off by saying, “It is a good question and it is hard to understand how much dew is going to come in tomorrow. From the one game we have experienced, there was not much of it. You just have to take your time to have a grip on the ball and you need to try to be accurate. It is going to be an exciting game and hopefully, some good cricket is played.”
(With ANI Inputs)
