ICC World Cup 2019 | It was an emotional rollercoaster, reveals Trent Boult
Trent Boult has said that a game such as the one against West Indies is a great thing as far as the fans and the tournament is concerned and it was a great feeling to be able to win such a close encounter. He went on to discuss the performance and praise both the teams for the effort they put in.
Trent Boult had a big role to play in New Zealand’s win against the West Indies as he took four big wickets at an economy of 3 runs per over in his allotted quota of 10 overs to set his team up nicely for the victory. His fellow pacers put in tiny shifts too, with Lockie Ferguson picking up three wickets while de Grandhomme took the all-important wicket of Chris Gayle.Â
"It was great to see the bowlers come back in those middle periods and pull it back a little bit. And I thought we were in an, obviously, very good position. It was maybe one of those grounds where wickets do fall in clumps. But we thought that if we put a lot of pressure on them, expose the one wicket and hopefully the wicket get one or two in a group there,” Boult said, reported Cricbuzz.
However, almost all of it went in vain thanks to a gutsy century by Carlos Braithwaite coming off just 80 balls. But with just six runs needed, he tried to heave one down long-off only for Trent Boult to take an absolute blinder to end his fantastic innings.
"I'm sure Braithwaite will be hurting. But I think a lot of credit is due to him and for getting them in a pretty good position. What a game. Simple as that, really. For Carlos to come out and do that as cleanly as he did, pure hitting; I'm going to say that was pretty cool to watch. It was pretty exceptional… a great 100. But to come that close and be on the right side of it is, of course, a very good feeling. Great game, great for the tournament," an overwhelmed Boult said.
The Black Caps themselves were in a jam early on in their innings having lost two wickets in the first over itself, courtesy two peaches by Sheldon Cottrell. However, a sturdy 69 by Ross Taylor and a well-paced 148 by captain Williamson helped them set up a target of 292.
"I thought it was classy, to be honest. It's what they've done many a time for us, time and time again and just absorbed the pressure there, especially Kane and backed up nicely with Ross. Kane got the rewards in terms of a big innings under his belt, but it was big for us to see the platform, get us that chance to push to a good score. I think the wicket probably wasn't as good as what we thought it was going to be. But 290 was a pretty positive total in our opinion," Boult praised his colleagues.
The close win is a second one for the Kiwis in as many games and the fans are for sure having a great time witnessing the team in action. Having reached their first final in 2015, this year could be theirs the way the team has played so far.
"It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster sitting there with the pads at times and then being under the pump there with the ball. It's what it's all about. It's awesome to be a part of it. And I'm sure there will be a lot of proud Kiwis back home, diving into poached eggs, watching a result like that," Boult signed off.