WI vs NZ | Twitter applauds Trent Boult's meticulously crafted off-cutter outwitting dangerous Russell

06/13/2024

Cricket is a battle between the bat and the ball, but the one who uses their brain the best often comes out on top. Such was the situation in the Group C encounter between West Indies and New Zealand when Kiwi speedster Trent Boult’s smartly executed delivery got rid of the dangerous Andre Russell.

‌The West Indies faced a nightmare start after being asked to bat first by New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. The home team quickly lost wickets in the powerplay, with Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, and Rovman Powell all failing to score, leaving the scoreboard at a dismal 22/4 in 5.4 overs. The situation worsened as Brandon King and Akeal Hosein fell cheaply, pushing the two-time champions towards a major batting collapse. Hope briefly flickered with Andre Russell’s arrival in the 12th over, as he hammered 17 runs off it. However, his inning was cut short by Trent Boult’s cunning bowling.

On the third ball of the 13th over, Boult came over the wicket and bowled a good length delivery that landed on the middle stump. The cleverly disguised off-cutter angled away from Russell, who cleared his front leg and tried to smash it over mid-wicket. Instead, he got an outside edge, and Lockie Ferguson at short third man took an easy catch after moving a couple of yards. A dejected Russell walked back to the pavilion, leaving the West Indies in a precarious position while Boult celebrated his prized wicket.

The Twitterverse lit up with admiration for Boult’s smart bowling, with many fans taking to social media to praise his brilliant delivery.

Poor shot!

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No intent!

ZERO game awarness - we have 7 overs left and russell throws his wicket away like that. Boult only had 1 over left
— PBV (@pvb0593)

There's np intent to put some runs on board!

West Indies batting approach is the complete anthesis of Pakistan's conservative batting. Both lack the required balance to be consistently successful.
— Adam Bell 🇳🇿🇮🇹 (@AdamKerrBell)

Agreed!

"Mindless batting"

The true essence of this phrase is seen in west indies' batting innings today vs NZ
— Lakshay Malhotra (@Lakshay81701866)

Not a tournamnet to bat like this!

All the West Indies batsmen batting like they cutting grass with a machete, swinging knowing damn well it’s hard to time the ball off the pitch, when will they play like pros
— yardie_king876 (@yardie_king876)

He's gone!