The Black Caps' bowling talisman produced one of the best spells of his career at Seddon Park today, ruthlessly dismantling the Indian batting lineup on his way to figures of 5-21.
His efforts, assisted by Colin de Grandhomme's 3-26, led to India being routed for 92, with captain Kane Williamson's call to bowl first proving inspired on a pitch that, at long last, offered some swing for the star seamer.
While Boult had been putting in solid performances in the series so far, he wasn't receiving much assistance from the batsman-friendly wickets, which he explained was largely due to the weather.
"It's been a windy summer and wind kills the fast bowler to be honest, when it's a bit gusty it eliminates the swing and the wicket dries up pretty quickly as well and turns into a pretty good batting wicket. [But] the conditions were there today.
"When you've got a bit of rhythm like that, the ball's swinging around, for the first time in a wee while, it's about making the most of the conditions."
Make the most he did, sending the bulk of the Indian top order back to the pavilion as part of his unbroken 10-over spell. At one point he had the figures of 4-9 from eight overs, with his inswing proving too hot to handle in one of the finest displays of opening bowling seen in New Zealand conditions.
As it turns out, it was a vital time to produce it as well. Down 3-0 in the series – all emphatic defeats – the Black Caps' confidence could have been shot with the World Cup just around the corner, but now, they've sent a powerful reminder that they can dominate anyone when they're firing.
"We didn't start how we wanted to in the series, we know we needed a big effort in all aspects of the game. We know we've got the game plan, we know it works. It was just about executing it," said Boult.
"When we do it well, it's good enough for anyone on the day."
Boult's five-for:
5.5 overs: Shikhar Dhawan 13 (20)
A full inswinger traps the prolific Indian opener plumb in front.
7.6 overs: Rohit Sharma 7 (23) The stand-in captain gets another one moving in sharply, pushing the ball back to the bowler who takes it easily.
11.6 overs: Shubman Gill 9 (21) A good length delivery and a replay of the Sharma dismissal. Gill drives on the up, caught and bowled.
13.1 overs: Kedar Jadhav 1 (7) Another vicious inswinger traps the batsman in front. It's reviewed but could hardly be any more dead - crashing into middle stump, three-quarters up.
19.4 overs: Hardik Pandya 16 (20) Boult gets his fifth as Pandya can't deal with a short one, the ball brushing his gloves on the way through to Tom Latham behind the stumps.
- Niall Anderson
