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New Zealand rode on Trent Boult's stunning bowling display to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday, November 9 to almost confirm their semifinal spot in the ongoing World Cup 2023.
Boult ripped through the Sri Lanka's batting line-up and picked a sensational three-fer. He gunned down Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis (6 off 7), Sadeera Samarawickrama (1 off 2), Charith Asalanka (8 off 8) to bundled out the Islanders for a paltry total of 171. In reply, New Zealand chased down the lowly target with five wickets and 26.4 overs to spare.
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New Zealand's victory over Sri Lanka has made India's semi-final spot almost certain, while Pakistan and Afghanistan are struggling to stay in the race. Interestingly, mere a coin toss on November 11 could decide Pakistan's fate, as they need to either chase down a target in 16 balls or beat England by 287 runs.
Meanwhile, Boult on the possibility of locking horns with India in the World Cup 2023's semifinal said,“Always the biggest challenge here (India) is to come across different conditions and conditions that change throughout the tournament.
Meanwhile, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson too chipped in with two wickets each to sum up Sri Lanka's batting early.
Devon Conway remained the top scorer for New Zealand with 45 while Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra notched 43 and 42 respectively.
"Everyone wants a piece of the host nation, they are playing phenomenal cricket. Time will tell what will happen there (playing India in the semifinal). I am sure it will be an exciting game,” Boult, who was adjudged the Player of the Match, said in the post match presentation.
“Nice to get bit of success at the top there (new ball). Big game, must-win game for us, pleasure is getting that result, yeah a good night. It's a challenging format, challenging part of the world to open the bowling. I feel like I've used my experience in some part of the game. Nice to be on a decent side of it tonight,” he concluded.
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