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Boult Targets India After New Zealand’s Sri Lanka Romp

Trent Boult has set his sights on host nation India after New Zealand all but secured their Cricket World Cup semi-final spot by thrashing Sri Lanka in Bangalore.

Boult became only the sixth bowler to take 50 or more ODI World Cup wickets when he captured 3-37 from his 10 overs.

The Black Caps finished their group campaign on 10 points from nine games after ending a four-match losing streak with a routine five-wicket victory as Sri Lanka, who were already eliminated, were bowled out for 171.

New Zealand reached their target in 23.2 overs to give their net run-rate a significant boost and make it unlikely they can be overtaken in fourth place.

Boult says the expected semi-final is a mouth-watering proposition and is excited about the Black Caps’ prospects.

“To play a World Cup in India and come up against the host nation – a team that’s red-hot, playing good cricket at a great ground – you couldn’t script it any better,” he said.

“[I’m] excited if that happens – I feel that we’ve done all we can from our point of view and we’ll just wait and see what happens.”

Fellow quick bowler Lockie Ferguson believes his side can upset the odds against India.

“We’re a tight-knit bunch and we’ve played a lot of cricket together. From our point of view, we’ve always been confident that if we turn up and play our best cricket then we can take on anyone in the world,” Ferguson said.

Pakistan can still match New Zealand on 10 points but would need a highly improbable margin of victory over England to exceed the Black Caps’ net run rate.

/Stewart
Sports news editor