New Delhi:
Trent Boult entered a special club of New Zealand bowlers at the end of day two of the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. In the 42nd over of the innings, Boult got the wickets of Angelo Mathews for 2 and Kusal Perera for 0 in the same over as New Zealand fought back on a rain-affected day. The wicket of Mathews put Boult in a special club of New Zealand bowlers. Boult became the third New Zealand player after Sir Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori to take 250 or more wickets in Tests.
Boult now has 251 wickets in 63 games at an average of 27.44. Hadlee is the leading wicket-taker for New Zealand, having taken 431 wickets in 86 Tests at a staggering average of 22.29 with 36 five-wicket hauls and nine 10-wicket hauls. Vettori became the second New Zealand bowler and first left-arm spinner to take over 350 wickets when he took 361 wickets in 112 Tests.
The left-arm pacer has become one of the key figures in New Zealand's upward trend in Tests ever since his debut in 2011 against Australia in Hobart. His first major success came in the Colombo Test against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval when he took seven wickets and helped New Zealand win in 2012.
However, his first major haul of five wickets or more came against England in Auckland and his haul of 6/68 almost gave New Zealand a victory against a side who were ranked No.1 in the Test format at that time. Boult's superb form continued when he picked up 6/40 against West Indies in Wellington in 2013 and his maiden 10-wicket haul helped New Zealand establish a streak of dominance in the Test arena for close to two years.
2013 was Boult's golden year, having taken 46 wickets in 12 Tests while in 2015 and 2018, he took 36 and 33 wickets respectively. In 2018, in the Pink Ball Test against England in Auckland, Boult took 6/32 as England were bowled out for 58. In the Christchurch Test in the same year, Boult took 6/30 as Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 10 runs to lose the match by 423 runs.
