Former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher heaped rich praise on Finn Allen and said there are “very few players in world cricket” who can match the New Zealand opener’s hitting ability. Allen slammed an unbeaten century to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to a dominant victory over Delhi Capitals in an IPL match on Friday.
With the win KKR remain in the playoff race as the franchise are peaking at the right time of the tournament. Boucher called it an “incredible innings” to watch.
“Once Finn Allen gets past 20 or 30, there are very few players in world cricket who strike the ball with the kind of power he does. What makes him special is not just the strength, but the range and cleanliness of his hitting,” Boucher said on JioHotstar.
“Whether it was the pick-up shot over fine leg against Mitchell Starc or the straight hits back over the bowler’s head, everything looked effortless. Anything in his arc or under his eyeline, he was striking beautifully. At one stage, it almost looked like he was batting against a bowling machine. It was an incredible innings to watch,” he added.
KKR chasing 143 were given a blazing start by Allen who scored an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls, which was studded with 10 sixes and five fours, handing DC an eight-wicket defeat on their home turf.
Boucher said KL Rahul’s wicket in the powerplay proved crucial for DC as their batting revolves around the senior India batter.
“KL Rahul’s wicket was a crucial moment because he’s the batter Delhi Capitals build their innings around. Ideally, you want him batting beyond the powerplay so he can control the tempo through the middle overs,” Boucher said.
“This is now the second time he has fallen around that phase while trying to take the game on. The aggressive role can be taken up by others around him, but Rahul’s value lies in going deep into the innings and managing momentum. From a team perspective, his wicket carries huge importance,” he added.
