Boult works his Oval magic again

Trent Boult was Man of the Match for his four wickets. Photo: Getty Images
Trent Boult appeals successfully for the wicket of Tamim Iqbal during game one of the one-day international series between the Black Caps and Bangladesh at the University of Otago Oval on Saturday.PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Trent Boult brought his cape along to the University of Otago Oval — again.

The Black Caps left-armer help set up a crushing eight-wicket win against Bangladesh with another stunning effort with the ball in Dunedin on Saturday.

The 31-year-old has fashioned an impressive record at the venue which has proven impregnable for the Black Caps.

They have won all nine ODIs at the ground and Boult has been instrumental in that success.

In the seven one-dayers he has played at the Oval he has picked up 20 wickets at an average of 11.65.

He has taken four wickets or more in three of those seven games.

His five for 17 against Pakistan in 2018 stands out as his best effort but Saturday's four for 27 was not bad either.

Boult set the tone with basically an unplayable delivery first up to rival Tamim Iqbal.

It was fast and full and it tailed in before swinging away late. The look on Boult's face said it all. No-one was hitting that.

Boult was in business and it was not long before he was adding to his haul.

Iqbal succumbed first. He got trapped in front by the delivery which did not swing away. Lovely set-up by Boult and he is the master at it.

One minute you are worried about getting an outside edge, the next it is getting rapped on the front pad and perishing lbw.

He is tough to face when he is working his magic like that. It is even harder on left-handers.

"I've played [against] Tamim a little bit and I enjoy bowling to left-handers. I suppose that is not too much of a secret,'' Boult said.

"It was nice to see the ball swinging around a little bit and squaring him up a little bit.

"To get a couple of wickets there at the top and put the pressure on the middle order was pretty satisfying.''

Soumya Sarkar was next. He did not get much of a look before he spooned a catch to cover.

Boult had two and then came back on late and wrapped up the innings nicely.

The Black Caps lead the three-game series 1-0 and will be strong favourites to extend that lead when game two starts in Christchurch tomorrow.

But Boult believes Bangladesh has enough experience, particularly in the top of the order, to produce a more competitive performance.

"There are some guys in there who have played over 200 ODIs, so there's a lot of experience there.

"They're definitely an opposition that we can't afford to take lightly.''

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