Chennai: New Zealand pacer Trent Boult conceded that returning skipper Kane Williamson made the job of winning against Bangladesh in their ODI World Cup match here easier by “soaking up some pressure”.
Williamson, playing his first match of the World Cup here Friday, having recovered from surgery to treat a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, scored 78 as the Kiwis made light of the 246-run target and defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets.
Williamson was out for five months, having suffered an ACL injury during IPL 2023.
The skipper came at a time when New Zealand had lost opener Rachin Ravindra for 9 and he then built a strong 80-run partnership with Devon Conway to lay the platform for the Kiwi win.
“He’s very comfortable out there in the middle, and yeah, quality knock after six or so months off. Great to have him back, and obviously a key player for us,” said Boult during the post-match press conference.
“The guy’s very comfortable at the crease, very familiar with how he wants to play his cricket. And, yeah, touched on soaking up some pressure at the start to begin with.
“But yeah, he plays good cricket shots, puts pressure on the bowler, and generally that’s a pretty good recipe.”
However, Williamson was hit on the thumb during a Bangladesh fielding effort, which saw him retire hurt at 78.
It is learnt that the skipper will undergo scans Saturday.
The Chepauk track for the encounter assisted the pacers with some bounce, unlike the one that was slow during the India-Australia tie.
“I think you can always gauge a wicket by the nets in a way, and I thought the nets were very good. It’s hot; I thought the wicket was very hard and offered a little bit of pace, which is probably not the description you normally take coming here to Chennai,” added the pace bowler who took two wickets in the match.
Pacer Lockie Ferguson was the star of the Kiwi bowling attack, grabbing three wickets, and Boult backed him to play a significant role deeper into the competition.
“Lockie plays a huge role for us and (is) a guy that can bowl 150K and has some great skills. It’s nice to see him get some reward today (Friday).
“He’s very clever with his plans. And, he likes to attack in the role that he’s in. Hopefully, he’s going to play a big role for us over the next couple of weeks.”
The New Zealanders play Afghanistan next here before moving to Dharamsala for matches against India and Australia.
Boult affirmed that playing two matches at a venue does give them breathing space.
“I think the way the draws panned out for us to be able to settle into the same venue a couple of times is probably a positive. Those conditions are going to be the big challenges as you move around the country.
“But yeah, obviously each venue brings a different opposition. Big match against Afghanistan with some guys that know these conditions very well as well.
“So, we’ll go away and have a bit of a chat, but understanding those conditions and understanding how to, I suppose, bowl and take the game deep with the bat is going to be a big thing,” he signed off.
