ICC CWC'19: I hope we meet Australia in the finals': Trent Boult
During the 2015 edition of the World Cup final, Australia denied New Zealand from winning its first-ever trophy as the Kiwis lost by seven wickets
Manchester: New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult on Wednesday said it will be nice to take on Australia at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final at Lord's on July 14.
During the 2015 edition of the World Cup final, Australia denied New Zealand from winning its first-ever trophy as the Kiwis lost by seven wickets at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
With the memory still fresh in mind, Boult said, "Australia pumped us in 2015 final so it will be nice to get out for a game."
The fast bowler, however, acknowledged that both England and Australia are quality sides. He also said that he will watch the second semi-final will interest.
"But yeah two quality sides (England and Australia) are going to play tomorrow (second semi-final). We will watch them with interest. We are more excited to be on the stage at Lord's for World Cup final. It does not get better than that in my opinion," Boult said.
Reflecting on the first semi-final of the ongoing tournament, where New Zealand beat India by 18 runs, Boult praised MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja for bringing the match very close towards the end.
"Obviously they (India) build up pressure nicely. Anything can happen with those guys (Dhoni and Jadeja) on the crease. Turned out to be a very close game but nice to come out on our side. Genuinely that catch (of Jadeja) and for (Martin) Guptill to run out Dhoni like that, it was nice to see. That was a big wicket for sure," he said.
India got off to a horrendous start while chasing a moderate target of 240 on the reserve day. The Kiwi bowlers rattled the top-order of India. Jadeja and Dhoni rebuilt the innings and added 116 runs. Boult changed the match contours as he dismissed Jadeja.
Towards the end when the onus was on Dhoni, Guptill pulled off a brilliant run out. India were bundled out on 221. Earlier, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson helped New Zealand post 239 runs for the loss of eight wickets in a rain-hit innings after electing to bat.
Boult also heaped praises on New Zealand bowlers especially Matt Henry who gave Kiwis a brilliant start. Henry returned with three wickets, including the likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
"Matt bowled extremely well. It was a brilliant start for us. We always try to get (the opposition) two or three down in the first 10 overs. We knew our best bowlers can be good enough for anyone on the day. The records speak for themselves. It was nice to see the ball moving around and put some pressure on them (India)," he said.