Ahead of facing India in the ongoing T20 World Cup, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult has said that he wants to mirror Shaheen Afridi’s performance against Virat Kohli's men on Sunday (October 31) in Dubai.

"The way Shaheen bowled the other night was, for a left-armer, I thought it was amazing. There's quality batsmen in that Indian lineup and early wickets are definitely the focus for us as a bowling group. Hopefully, from my point of view, it swings around a little bit and I can mirror what Shaheen did the other night," Boult said in the pre-match press conference.

Kiwi batter Ross Taylor is also expecting Boult to do well and he feels skipper Kane Williamson will rely heavily on the left-arm fast bowler to set the tone against India.  

“Trent Boult would love to set the tone for New Zealand just like Shaheen Shah Afridi did for Pakistan a few days ago,” Taylor told India Today.

“Boult will be crucial for New Zealand and Kane Williamson will be banking on him to get the early breakthroughs, if they bowl first,” he added.

Ross Taylor, however, acknowledged that Boult had struggled to take wickets upfront in the recently concluded IPL 2021 for Mumbai Indians.

“We have seen in the IPL that Boult has struggled upfront for Mumbai Indians. He has not got as many wickets, but his first couple of overs with the new ball will be crucial for New Zealand,” said Taylor.

Apart from Taylor, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that Trent Boult will pose the biggest threat to Team India in a do or die game.

“Trent Boult is a great bowler in all the formats of the game. India will have to watch out for the first couple of overs. There’s no doubt that Boult will be looking to replicate what Shaheen did last week, said Gavaskar.

(With India Today inputs)