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Pacer Trent Boult rings warning bell

Though NZ lose warm-up tie by 30 runs, pacer picks up 5/38

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New Zealand player Trent Boult in action during a practice match against Indian Board President XI in Mumbai on Tuesday
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Trent Boult belies the definition of a fast bowler.

Even though the Board President’s XI openers were going great guns in the warm-up game at the Brabourne Stadium here on Tuesday, Boult, who hadn’t found a breakthrough with the new ball, went over to KL Rahul to have a hearty laugh during the drinks break.

Even though the other Black Caps pacers had their shoulders slightly drooped due to the loads of heat and humidity to go with the lack of wickets, Bolt kept coming back on to bowl with a smile.

Even though the Kiwis lost the unofficial game by 30 runs in pursuit of a 296-run chase after a long and arduous day, Boult came out to speak to the assembled reporters flashing that very smile.

The left-arm fast bowler had good reason to do so, though. The visitors’ biggest takeaway from their first practice game in tune-up to the three-match ODI and T20I series against India came in the form of Boult.

The 28-year-old picked up 5/38 in his nine overs, but not on account of his USP. Boult has made picking up wickets with the new cherry his forte but on Tuesday, it wasn’t to be.

Rahul and the young Prithvi Shaw negated Boult’s four overs in the morning with ease, despite the ball doing a bit in the air.

Yet, after the openers departed, Boult came back in his second spell and put the brakes on the Board President’s XI run-scoring in the middle overs by sending back captain Shreyas Iyer and the dangerous Rishabh Pant.

He then showcased his skill and class of bowling at the death too, removing the set Karun Nair, Shivam Chaudhary and Karn Sharma in his final spell to ensure that the chase for his batsmen didn’t exceed 300.

It’s a role Boult knows he will have to be prepared to play in the series should his attack fail to pick up early wickets against the quality Indian top-order.       

The Black Caps are clear about what they expect from their premier spinner Mitchell Santner: tie the Indian batsmen up. Thus, it will be up to the fast bowlers to drill holes in the Indian batting order from the other end, with Boult being the leader of that.         

“My game plan is simple. I look to swing the ball at the start of the innings, and look to be as aggressive as I can in the later spells,” Boult said after the game. “Accuracy is where I feel I can offer the most. I feel I can hit the yorkers, put the dots in between and build up pressure like that,” he added.

That’s exactly what he did against this second-string side -- which had some India Test players as well as India aspirants in the batting line-up – despite the lack of success with the new ball.

“Coming back and taking wickets in clumps is important for us (against India). Today, it worked in parts and not in some,” Boult said.

That probably sums up the game for them, too.

NZ hit some, miss some  

The Kiwis had a decent outing with the ball, with as many as nine of them rolling their arms over. Santner chocked the runs like he usually does and picked up two wickets, while Tim Southee looked impressive with the new ball.

They had to call on Ish Sodhi – who is not part of the ODI squad – to bowl after leggie Todd Astle got injured.      

But it’s their batting they would like to fine tune in the second practice game on Thursday. Five of their batsmen fell to spin, three of them including captain Kane Williamson holing out, while two getting cleaned up by Shahbaz Nadeem.  

Brief scores: Board President’s XI 295/9 in 50 overs (K Nair 78, KL Rahul 68, P Shaw 66; T Boult 5/38, M Santner 2/40) bt New Zealand 265 all out in 47.4 overs (T Latham 59, K Williamson 47, R Taylor 34; S Nadeem 3/41, J Unadkat 3/62) by 30 runs

Gates not open for public

The warm-up game on Tuesday at the Cricket Club of India was not open for public. A few fans who turned up in the morning to watch the match were turned away by the police. A CCI official said that only club members were allowed to come in and witness the game, and that they weren’t obligated to open the gates to the public.

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