Trent Boult embraced the ‘mayhem’ as New Zealand’s opening bowlers produced a stunning spell to book their place in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final.
Set 240 to win, India’s top order was sent reeling as Matt Henry, with three wickets, and Boult with one left the world’s number two side flailing at 24 for four.
Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni’s seventh-wicket partnership put the game back in the balance but ultimately it was Boult and Henry’s new ball brilliance that proved decisive.
And now focus switches to Birmingham on Thursday, where England and Australia will compete for a chance to join the Black Caps in the final.
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“It was mayhem out there with the new ball, it was a dream start for us and great fun to be a part of,” said Boult, who has taken 17 wickets in 10 matches with none more valuable than the semi-final prize of India captain Virat Kohli, dismissed for just one.
“We knew our best balls are good enough for anyone, so it was nice to get the ball moving around and really put the pressure on them.
“They absorbed the pressure nicely and anything can happen with Dhoni and Jadeja at the crease, so it’s just nice to come out on the right side.
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“We’re just excited about playing in a World Cup final at Lord’s - it doesn’t get bigger than that and whoever we play, we’ll just enjoy it.
“I think we are good enough to beat anyone. Every side is stacked with good players but we can wait to be out there on the big dance, this means everything to the side.”
Henry’s figures of three for 37 were not a career best but were certainly career-defining, with the top order scalps of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik rightly earning him man of the match honours.
And what a difference 18 days make, it was here at Old Trafford he suffered a torrid time at the hands of the West Indies going for 25 off one over.
“Semi-finals are a special opportunity. We knew it would be tough for them if we took early wickets and that gave us the platform we needed,” said Henry.
“We wanted to get on top and put them under pressure. India have a world-class batting line-up and to break that opening partnership was huge. They bat a long way down and we were the work wasn’t done after the first ten overs. We knew they would establish a partnership and we had to control the run rate.
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“We’ve been faced with so many challenges through this tournament, we just had to focus on our brand of cricket and trust the match winners we have in our dressing room. Whatever happened in the past didn’t really matter.
“This is up right there for me, coming into a semi-final and coming out on the right side of a tight match is always going to be tough to beat.”
(Inputs from ICC)
