New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult praised 17-year-old batsman Prithvi Shaw on Tuesday after he scored 66 and played a key role in the 30-run win for the Indian Board President’s XI in a one-day warm-up game here.
Prithvi was pulled out of the India U-19 team, which is due to travel to Malaysia for the Asia Cup, and was asked to open for the Indian Board President’s XI against the Kiwis. The Mumbai youngster raised a 147-run stand with Test opener KL Rahul.
“I heard he was 17, I couldn’t quite believe it. He played very nicely. The ball swung around nicely at the start, and it didn’t seem to trouble him. He has a promising career ahead of him, if all things go well. But very impressed from the first look,” said Boult, who claimed 5/38 in the first game on the limited-overs tour.
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Boult, an IPL regular, said his side was outplayed by the Indian side. “It’s satisfying to re-familiarise ourselves with the conditions here. It was very hot this afternoon, but it’s disappointing to not come away with a win.
“It’s tough. It’s just what is expected in this part of the world. It’s about 7-8 degrees in NZ at the moment, so it’s a bit of a shock to the system to come here; 9.30 start and to play throughout the heat was a challenge. But we were outplayed by a quality Indian side.”
NZ SWING NEGATED
Boult credited Rahul (68) and Prithvi for setting up a strong platform. “They negated it very nicely, played a few shots. A lot of the credit goes to their openers for getting the platform for the rest. They put a very challenging total of the board,” said Boult.
The Indian Board President’s XI scored 295/9 and bowled out the Kiwis for 265.
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The Kiwi pacers peppered the Indian batsmen with short balls, but didn’t get a lot of success. On the strategy, the left-arm pacer said, “Good opportunities to try different tactics in terms of a bowling plan. To come here and try bowl good line and length against some of the best players in the world is probably not the best recipe in getting them out.”
All of Boult’s wickets came with the old ball. “We all know the importance of taking wickets at the top of the innings.
“The ball did what we wanted to do in terms of swing and good line and length, but they kept it out easily. So, coming back and taking wickets in clumps is important for us. Today, it worked in parts and not in some.”
LITTLE MARGIN FOR ERROR
Boult admitted New Zealand faced a challenge in the limited-overs series, having lost the previous ODI series 3-2 in the final game in Hyderabad.
“It’s always a good challenge coming to this part of the world. The Australians have come here and dealt with what they have (lost ODIs 4-1 and drew T20s 1-1). It’s a big challenge for us to step up and hopefully upset a side that’s in very, very good form.”
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Boult said: “You need to be accurate, the room for error is very small here. The batsmen are very talented, they like to hit boundaries, and they’re able to hit boundaries of your best balls. So, the accuracy has to be there, the fitness has to be there to keep delivering.”
The three-match ODI series starts on Sunday, with the first game to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The teams will also clash in a three-match T20I series.
Source: HindustanTimes