It is almost a habit now to see Trent Boult run through the top-order batters of literally any team in international cricket. As he is popularly known for it, Boult makes cricket look like a Football match in the first half of the powerplay overs in a match. When at his best, the left-arm pacer is close to being unplayable, especially with the new ball in hand.
That was exactly what happened when the English batters faced the 34-year-old in the second ODI in Southampton. On an overcast morning, due to rain, the match was reduced to 34 overs per side. It was like tailor-made conditions for the New Zealand pacer. The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bowl first. Everything went perfectly for New Zealand. The result was right in front of everyone.
Boult was at his work. The Rotorua-born bowler got the ball to swing like he usually does. Under overcast conditions, the batters just danced to the tunes of Boult. With his swing bowling, the Kiwi pacer bowled a lethal spell with the new ball. In the third over of the match, Boult got the two big wickets of Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, which seemed like written on the cards.
3 big wickets in agap of 14 balls for New Zealand
Bairstow was undone due to a spectacular catch from Mitchell Santner. On the other hand, Root was nowhere to play the shot he did against Boult. The World Test Championship winner trapped the star batter from England lbw and sent a shocker to the dugout of England. Root has been in a horrible form in ODIs lately, who needs a huge turnaround before the ODI World Cup.
After the two right-handed batters were dismissed, it was the turn of a Southpaw to dance to the tunes of Boult. The following candidate was Ben Stokes, who shares a lot of memories with Boult, particularly from the final of the 2019 ODI World Cup. Boult dismissed Stokes, who gave a simple catch to Tim Southee.
Here's how the fans reacted to the spell from Boult :
As powerplay bowler
— Abhishek (@be_mewadi) September 10, 2023
Boult> Shaheen
Oh teri pic.twitter.com/2rHlMpXCSO
— Cricket🏏 Lover // ICT Fan Account (@CricCrazyV) September 10, 2023
Welcome back Mi blood 🔥🔥🔥
— User45 (@140off113) September 10, 2023
Making it a football match
— Sameer (@agonyofsameer) September 10, 2023
Boult is back with the bang 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Yamin (Qalandar) (@imughalz) September 10, 2023
Boult is the deadliest left arm pacer around especially in first 4-5 overs. Doesn't have much pace but can swing the ball both ways and almost always does it too.
— Pathik Joshi💪 (@pathikj80) September 10, 2023
5-3🤝8-3
— Sports Fan (@crazyforsports7) September 10, 2023
What a footballer man! pic.twitter.com/o9TO0zlMUi
— The CrickFun (@TheCrickFun) September 10, 2023
Ind vs Nz in Dharamsala in winter, khud hi samajh lo ab 🥶🥶
— Rahul Varma (@urscoolrahul) September 10, 2023
Indian top orders already shivering
— Supriya (@Supriya_pro) September 10, 2023