IPL 2022: Trent Boult earns 'all-rounder' tag after his exploits against LSG during Kumar Sangakkara's dressing room speech

Rajasthan Royals' new-ball bowler Trent Boult's all-round contributions earned him the player of the match award in their victory over the Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday. As a result, the Kiwi got the label of an all-rounder during head coach Kumar Sangakkara's dressing room speech.

Boult, who batted at number eight in Sunday's game, struck an unbeaten 17 off the eight balls he faced. The 32-year old hit consecutive boundaries to score 14 runs in the 19th over against Mohsin Khan. The left-armer later took figures of 4-0-18-2 with the ball, dismissing Quinton de Kock and Ayush Badoni in consecutive deliveries to set up the victory.

Meanwhile, Kumar Sangakkara acknowledged the key contributions to the victory, naming Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, James Neesham, and Trent Boult. Hence, his name was met with the 'all-rounder' tag despite his main role as a bowler.

The Rotorua-born player's brief cameo helped the Royals add an unbeaten 26 off 14 deliveries with Ravichandran Ashwin. The inaugural IPL champions amassed 178-6, which proved to be too much for the opposition. Deepak Hooda held the innings together with his 39-ball 59; however, there was little support from the other end.

Trent Boult has struggled for consistency this season

The Kiwi seamer celebrates with his teammates. (Credits: Twitter)

Despite Boult's significant role in the Royals' crucial victory, he has struggled for consistency this year. The 32-year has 12 wickets in as many games at 30.66. Hence, if the Royals reach the playoffs, the franchise will expect bigger contributions.

The 24-run win on Sunday helped the Royals leap to number two in the points table, dethroning the Super Giants from the spot. After the victory, Samson admitted that every player came to the fore and hailed Neesham for injecting energy into the team.

"This win was satisfying. The atmosphere is chilled and nice, it's not easy to maintain it when there are losses and we have done it well. Batting first suits our approach well, we want to bat positively and the bowling unit is good as well. Decisions are judged by results, Ashwin did well last game as well."

He added:

"The intensity in the field was good. Special mention to Neesham who brought a lot of energy. The bonus of having quality spinners is you can use them anywhere.Every batter played well without complicating or analyzing too much. So we did well despite being a batter short."

The Royals will face the Chennai Super Kings in their final league game on Friday in Mumbai.