Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson recorded his best figures in T20Is on Friday as hosts New Zealand downed the West Indies in a thrilling contest at the Eden Park, Auckland.
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, international cricket finally returned to New Zealand almost after nine months, and the crowd got to see a nail-biting match with Black Caps reaching the set 176-run target in the final over with five wickets in hand.
The local boy Ferguson proved just how important extra pace is in T20Is. He made the most of his sheer pace to knock over the West Indies batsmen. He started with a double-wicket strike – Andre Fletcher and Shemron Hetmyer – to bowl out the tourists’ collapse. He bowled short, quick, on a length and kept the batsmen guessing.
Ferguson picked 3/8 in his opening spell and returned towards the end of the first innings to claim two more in his last over to finish with career-best figures of 5/21.
Here’s the video of Ferguson’s thunderbolt to dismiss Fletcher:
KKR star! pic.twitter.com/14vJMJUImP
— Kumar Sourav (@AdamDhoni1) November 27, 2020
In the post-match interview, the ‘Player of the Match’ awardee Ferguson said that the short boundaries at Eden Park helped him a lot.
“The boys started out okay. But a bit of bad luck happens at this ground, it is one of the craziest grounds to play as the ball flies everywhere. Fortunately for me, it went to hand. Certainly happy with how the boys chased the total. I have put in a lot of work to make sure the body can do it for a long period as I don’t think I swing it like Tim or Trent, the pace is an attribute that I can add. It is coming out nicely and pleased with the result. We have come to know that at Eden Park, it does rain at night and you go on and off. The boys were switched on and the fielding was exceptional tonight.”
The next fixture of the three-match T20I series is at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday (November 29).
