Mumbai playing nicely at the right time: Boult
On bowling upfront against Sunrisers compared to previous stints in the middle or slog overs, Boult said he just needed to be prepared for any role
HYDERABAD: “I think it was a good wicket, obviously one which Sunrisers knows very well. A heaven for big scores. But, I think it played a little bit differently than a lot of people expected,” Mumbai Indians star pacer Trent Boult said after the team outplayed Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday night here.
“Son, nice to see any team kind of 4 or 5 down in the power play. It was a good feeling and is the wish of any team really,” Boult said. “ We know what early wickets do in the power play. Puts pressure on oppositions. I thought Klaasen batted very nicely. Obviously got them into a good position to get a respectable position. But,if you told us we were going to keep them to 144 as we got off the bus, I think any team would have taken that,” Boult explained.
“I think the whole side, the whole Mumbai Indians squad possesses some world-class players and obviously Rohit needs no introduction in that regard,” Boult said on the kind of impact batting performances from Rohit Sharma has on the team.
“I’m sure everyone wants to be contributing at some point but Rohit’s doing a fantastic job of late and playing nicely just at the right time. So, he’s going to play a huge role for us in the remaining part of the season,” Boult, who was ‘player of the match’, said.
On bowling upfront against Sunrisers compared to previous stints in the middle or slog overs, Boult said he just needed to be prepared for any role.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play 10 IPL seasons where it hasn’t always been the same recipe every time. So I think the first thing is you’ve got to always want the ball,” Boult said.
“I think having that mindset of wanting the ball and wanting to take on the big players is always a good start. Like I said, I think we expected it to be a high-scoring match. It looked like a good surface with not much grass on it. Quite a dry wicket but. I think the new ball stood up a little bit for both teams in the power play,” he explained about the pitch.
On winning four games in-a-row, Boult said momentum wasn’t on their side but to turn it around to have four consecutive wins in a row was the focus, just to get a bit of momentum, a bit of rhythm. “We’re not going to look too far ahead. It can quickly change. Looking forward to getting back home, playing in some conditions that we know pretty well, but there’s a long way to go in this tournament,” he said.
On Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, Boult said he hadn’t played under his captaincy for five years. “He is a passionate cricketer, obviously very skillful. A great leader, leads from the front, enjoying the experience of playing under him. And Hardik is a great communicator and one of my favourite Indian cricketers,” he said.
