IPL 2020: Delhi Capitals gifting Trent Boult to one of the strongest teams of the tournament is extraordinary, says Tom Moody

• Trent Boult has picked up 22 wickets for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020 so far.
• Tom Moody also heaped praise on Hardik Pandya, who is turning out to be an ideal finisher for MI this season.

Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody believes that the Delhi Capitals made a big mistake by trading New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult to the Mumbai Indians.

DC were very active in the IPL trade window as they traded in experienced Indian players in the form of Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin.

But on the other hand, they let go of one of the most destructive international swing bowlers in Trent Boult, to probably one of the strongest IPL teams in MI.

Moody felt that although DC didn’t know they were going to play the IPL in the UAE, and were building a team for the low and slow wicket of the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, they could have released Trent Boult back in the auction instead of directly handing him to the defending champions.

“To me that was an extraordinary move. And I know that at that point at that trade, they didn’t know that the tournament was going to move to the UAE. But even so, Trent Boult would be deadly in Mumbai because that is one venue where the ball would swing,” Tom Moody told ESPNCricinfo.

“And Boult is one of the best powerplay bowlers in the IPL so to gift him to one of the strongest teams, if not the strongest team of the whole tournament, an ace like that, it’s extraordinary. If they were wanting to cash their chips in so to speak with Trent Boult, they should have just done it through the auction and let not only Mumbai but other teams fish around for Trent Boult,” he further added.

Finishers like Hardik Pandya are rare: Tom Moody

Tom Moody also heaped praise on Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya, whose brilliant 37* off just 14 balls helped MI post a total of 200 against DC in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2020.

MI were struggling at 102-4 at one stage. But thanks to some sensational hitting from both Ishan Kishan and Pandya, MI were able to score 92 runs in the last six overs.

This was too much for DC in the end as the Delhi-based franchise fell short by 57 runs. DC were rocked by a slew of early wickets, as Trent Boult came back to haunt the side by bowling a double-wicket maiden in the very first over.

“Finishers like him are rare, and when he’s in that type of form, you’d pick him everyday of the week because players that can put a finishing touch like he did – took the score from what we thought was going to be 170, 175 range – it’s game over. That is an impactful moment in the game, even though he was out there for only 14 balls,” Tom Moody said.

The result means that MI find themselves in yet another IPL final. They now await the winner of Qualifier 2 between DC and Sunrisers Hyderabad, which is to be played on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.