Watch: Trent Boult too hot to handle for Sarfraz Ahmed

With all respect to Tim Southee and his achievements, Trent Boult at present is New Zealand’s best swing bowler. Among all the reason which makes a genius swing bowlers, it is his bowling style – the left arm swing bowling breed – which makes him distinctive.

He surely knows how to use angles and swing the ball both ways without much difference in the action. These qualities make facing him on a green top  a bit frightening, especially in the conditions he is very accustomed to bowling. The batsman can never be sure of his wicket.

Same was the case with Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed who was left with o choice but to walk back to the pavilion after getting clean bowled by a fabulous in-swinger. It was perfect left arm fast bowlers dismissal and probably reminded many of the vintage wickets which Pakistani great Wasim Akram took during his heydays by fooling the batsman to play the wrong line.

It is quite illogical to compare Boult with Akram, but he did something similar at Hagley Oval. The ball pitched on the good length area, swung back just enough to beat Sarfraz Ahmed and shatter the stumps. The batsman did try to bring his bat in between but it was of no use it was nowhere near the line on which the ball was traveling. The batsman was perhaps the illusion that the ball would nip back prodigiously but it didn’t.

Pakistan never really figured out how to play against New Zealand bowlers and swing bowling troubled them very much. Trent Boult and his pace bowling compatriots were absolutely fantastic in the opening Test at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The Pakistan cricket team was rolled out for just 133 runs and 171 runs both the innings. The fast bowlers claimed all 20 wickets with leg-spinner Todd Astle, the low-key debutant for the Kiwis getting just the 4 overs, that too in the second innings.

Watch: In-swinger from Trent Boult too hot to handle for Sarfraz Ahmed

Sarfaraz Ahmed has no answer to Boult's stunner #NZvPAK #Test #SkySports pic.twitter.com/rUu5ptSfz6

— Sai Kishore (@DivingSlip) November 20, 2016