Scott Boland was the chief architect of Australia’s six-wicket triumph in the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After claiming four wickets in his first outing, the pacer claimed a six-fer. Scott Boland hence took 10 wickets in the match, joining cricket legend Glenn McGrath in an elite list. Meanwhile, Scott Boland’s brilliance powered the Aussies to a six-wicket win.
In the first innings, Scott Boland took four wickets for just 31 runs. Scott Boland continued his dominance in the second innings by dismissing key players like Virat Kohli (17) and Rishabh Pant (61). His efforts resulted in a total of six wickets for 45 runs in the second innings. These performances led to his match figures standing at an impressive 10/76.
Scott Boland’s feat is only the second instance since 1990 when an Australian seamer has taken 10 wickets in a Test at the SCG. The first was McGrath, who ended with figures of 10/103 against India in 2000. This historical context further highlights how special Scott Boland’s performance in this match has been and how he has contributed to Australia’s current standing.
Scott Boland was the pick of the Aussie bowlers in both innings, claiming 4/31 and 6/45.Playing his 13th Test, Scott Boland has raced to 56 wickets, as per ESPNCricinfo. The 35-year-old claimed his second Test fifer and maiden match 10-wicket haul. His bowling average of 17.66 is the best among Australian bowlers to have scalped 50 or more Test wickets in the last 80 years. 21 of his scalps came in BGT 2024-25 at 13.19.
Australia ended their 10-year drought to win their first Border-Gavaskar Trophy since the 2014-15 series in the afternoon session on Day 3 at SCG. The victory in Sydney also sent them to their second successive World Test Championship final – barring any over-rate deductions – where they will face South Africa for the mace.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : There is a lot of grass on the pitch. The sun is not out and it is very overcast. The new ball will not be easy for the batters. Konstas batted well at the MCG. Batting with the new ball won’t be easy. The captain would ideally want to bowl first. reckons Sunny G at the pitch report.
Toss : On a Green top Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and chose too bat first with 2 changes in the playing XI bringing in Prasidh Krishna and Shubman Gill for Rohit Sharma and Akash Deep. Australian skipper Pat Cummins bowling first made way for debutant Beau Webster in place of Mitchell Marsh.
Day 1: Scott Boland takes four as India fold for 185 after batting on green top
India’s restraint-filled batting approach did not pay dividends as they were bowled out for 185 after opting to bat on a green-top in Sydney. Scott Boland was the most successful of the Australian bowlers picking up figures of 4-31 with his metronomic lines and lengths accentuated by the seam movement that the surface had on offer.
India had their moment in the sun when Jasprit Bumrah got Usman Khawaja (for the sixth time in the series) nicking behind after verbal exchange with non-striker Sam Konstas. The dramatic end gave India some joy on an otherwise tough day out with the bat.
There were testing questions to be asked of India right from the start when Bumrah walked out for the toss instead of Rohit Sharma. The pacer, who had led India in Perth, mentioned that Rohit had “opted to rest” for this match, and proceeded to put his batters up for tough questioning. KL Rahul, who moved back to the top in Rohit’s absence, began watchfully along with Yashasvi Jaiswal as the conditions demanded and remained tight in defence and in the corridor outside off to begin with.
But against the run of play, Rahul flicked a legstump half-volley from Mitchell Starc straight into the hands of square leg, pushing India behind. Jaiswal tried to counter Scott Boland’s relentless lines and lengths by walking towards the bowler, but ended up nicking one into the hands of debutant Beau Webster in the slip cordon.
Scott Boland nearly did an encore with Virat Kohli nicking the first ball he faced to the right of Steve Smith, who got fingers underneath and pushed it to Webster to the right of him. But replays appeared to show that that the ball might have touched the ground as Smith was doing his acrobatic effort. Third umpire Joel Wilson ruled this in Kohli’s favour.
With that slice of luck, the out-of-form senior batter pushed ahead with much of the discipline he had showcased in the first innings at Melbourne. Pat Cummins used his four frontline pace options in short spells and each of them posed tough questions, giving little in terms of scoring options for both Kohli and Shubman Gill, who was back to his No. 3 spot.
Gill had some close shaves with an inside edge missing the stumps and another outside edge flying over the cordon. But he too, like Kohli, was intent on minimizing the unforced errors for large part of the 40-run partnership of 106 balls. But at the stroke of Lunch, he danced down to Nathan Lyon and nicked to slip pushing India further back.
Kohli’s vigil did not last too long either for he poked outside off and was out caught in the slip cordon for the seventh time in the series. The metronomic Scott Boland could have had Ravindra Jadeja early as well if not for a dropped catch by Smith.
At the other end, an uncharacteristically orthodox Rishabh Pant copped several blows on the body but did not attempt anything out of the ordinary in a fighting knock. With the Australian pacers offering no freebies, Pant’s boundary opportunity had to be manufactured when he danced down the ground and struck Webster down the ground for a six.
A hit off a short ball from Lyon at the stroke of Tea gave him another boundary in an otherwise grind which eventually ended in the final session when he miscued a pull off Boland to midwicket. No sooner had he walked off berating himself on the way back that he was joined by Nitish Reddy who was caught in the slip cordon first ball.
Ravindra Jadeja, who had fought his way to a 95-ball 26 then played across to Starc to be caught plumb in front. Washington Sundar hit a couple of welcome boundaries before he was adjudged to have gloved his attempted pull by the third umpire on Australia’s review, leaving the lower-order to carry on the fight. Bumrah swung his bat to get to 22 before he became the last man dismissed. It continued India’s poor run of scores in the first innings of Tests, being bowled out in less than 80 overs for the seventh time in the last eight Tests.
Day 2 : Rishabh Pant, Scott Boland keep SCG Test on an even keel after Day 2
On a day that the match moved at breakneck speed, where 314 runs were scored and 15 wickets fell, India finished with a lead of 145 runs at stumps. The match though remained evenly poised with the lead at still a gettable stage with Scott Boland leaving them down to the last-recognized batting pair.
The pace attack had managed to restrict Australia to 181 and earn a minor four-run first innings lead. In the absence of Bumrah through that second session, India’s younger crew stepped up. Nitish had two wickets in two balls as he had both Cummins and Starc nicking off.
The slip cordon did not drop any through the day, and it was only enhanced when Prasidh Krishna had Webster caught at gully for 57. Webster was the lone batter that kept hitting back, playing percentage cricket right through and holding the Australian innings together. He had initially helped them recover from a top-order stutter alongside Steve Smith in the first session.
India had got a good start with the ball on Day Two with both Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj testing the batters early. On the green-pitch with high seam movement, the sun being out made little difference to how difficult batting would prove to be. After the late strike on Day One, Bumrah was at it again early on the second day when he had Marnus Labuschagne nicking behind, adjudged on review.
Sam Konstas took the adventurous route out against Bumrah, reverse-lapping him for boundary or walking out to drive him down the ground. It enabled Australia to punch back but the counter did not last long. Siraj too found his rhythm outside off, moving the ball away from a good length. It eventually got the better of Konstas who edged to gully. Siraj’s attacking lengths allowed Travis Head to clip one off his pads but in the same over he had him nicking to the slip cordon, leaving them precariously poised at 39/4 inside the first hour.
However, on his home ground, Smith managed to survive a few plays and misses while also leaving the ball well. He had some release shots on offer when Prasidh came on to bowl. India’s third frontline pacer was not consistent with his lengths like Bumrah or Siraj, and that enabled Smith to both pull and drive crucial boundaries.
In Webster, he also found a more than adequate partner to counter India’s change-up bowling options as the runs began to trickle in. The duo added 57 runs for the fifth wicket as the wicket started to ease out a little more as the sun shone.
But against the run of play, as Smith was approaching the milestone of 10000 Test runs he fell for 33, edging Prasidh Krishna to second slip. It gave India a much-needed fillip which they carried on into the next session with the ball before Australia roared back into the game through the relentless Scott Boland
India’s lead would feel lesser particularly so with Jasprit Bumrah suspected to have picked up an injury. While it remained unclear what the nature of injury was, Bumrah was absent throughout the second session after having bowled in the first. India still managed to eke out out a four-run first innings lead in his absence.
They proceeded to carry that confidence with the bat as Yashasvi Jaiswal got going with four boundaries off Mitchell Starc’s first over. India’s attacking opening stand though was cut short by Scott Boland who rattled the timber of both KL Rahul and Jaiswal in quick succession.
The pitch, which offered appreciable assistance to seam movement all day, proved to be Scott Boland’s biggest ally alongside his relentless lines and lengths. He accounted for Virat Kohli too soon after, getting him nicking to the slip cordon yet again. India’s counter to Scott Boland came in the form of Pant who danced down the track first ball to slap the pacer off his length for a boundary.
That attacking intent stayed right through Pant’s innings even as he saw Shubman Gill failing in a counter-attacking ploy and becoming debutant Beau Webster’s maiden Test wicket. But like Webster was with the bat for Australia, Pant remained a standout in the Indian innings. Both were the only half-centurions of the day but their methods had been contrasting.
Pant’s counter-attack led him to get a 29-ball fifty, the second quickest in India’s Test history. Through that phase, he put on a 44-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, who had contributed a mere 2 to that partnership. Pant flicked, pulled, cut and swung his way to boundaries against the likes of Boland, Webster and Starc.
However, he fell soon after the final drinks break of the day when Pat Cummins slanted one across him and saw the slash getting an edge through to the ‘keeper. Like Boland vs Kohli, this was the fourth time that Cummins had managed to get Pant through the series. After his dismissal, Australia brought the scoring down to minimum before Nitish Reddy hit Scott Boland straight to mid-off in an attempt to release the pressure. The lack of runs, albeit in tough conditions, offset some of the good work done by India’s bowlers earlier in the day.
Day 3 : Scott Boland’s 6-fer the star as Australia clinch the Border Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 after a decade to confirm their place to WTC Finals 2025
Australia’s debutant Beau Webster and India’s big-game nemesis, Travis Head, saw the small chase through with an unbeaten 58-run stand as the visitors came up short with the ball in the absence of the injured Jasprit Bumrah. India’s hopes were piqued towards the end of the morning session where Prasidh Krishna struck thrice but those were quickly put to rest by Head and Beau Webster.
The day began with Scott Boland and Pat Cummins quashing India’s endeavour to add to their overnight lead and make a match out of the situation. Cummins snuffed out the two batters from Day 2 – Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – with subtle but effective seam movement.
Scott Boland had started the day with a maiden and continued to stalk both the edges by hitting a perfect length. He had Siraj caught at first slip and castled Bumrah in the 40th over to wrap up India’s innings. Scott Boland then, fittingly, held the ball aloft and led Australia off the field, with the SCG crowd giving him a rousing reception.
His captain Cummins had earlier accounted for Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Jadeja had been dropped by Smith in the slips on 6 on day two, but it cost India just 7, with Cummins going much fuller to kiss Jadeja’s outside edge. He then nipped one through Washington’s gate to expose India’s tail to Scott Boland.
Jadeja nicked one that moved away from him and Sundar was cleaned up by the one that ducked in. Scott Boland picked his fifth and sixth – Mohammed Siraj caught at slips, and Bumrah, bowled – to walk his team off the park to adulation from the SCG crowd just 7.5 overs into the morning session. Australia were set a target of 162 runs.
After having left the SCG on the second day for scans on his back, Bumrah returned to bat at No.11 on the third day but wasn’t fit to bowl. All the early visuals had portended Bumrah’s absence. He didn’t warm up with the other bowlers and only did a bit of shadow-bowling. Then, after becoming the last India batter to be dismissed, for a duck, he didn’t take the field at all for India’s defence of 161. Given his history of back issues, India wrapped him up in cotton wool.
Bumrah’s back spasm meant he wasn’t going to be available to bowl. In his absence, India’s listlessness came through early as the two frontline quicks Siraj and Krishna conceded wide fours – and 13 runs each in their respective first overs. Sam Konstas then fell, top-eding with a shot across the line against Krishna to get caught by Sundar at mid-off. The pacers generated uneven bounce to keep themselves in the game, even with a paltry score to defend.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith fell in quick succession to keep India alive in the game. Labuschagne hit a back-of-length ball to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully while Smith was undone by excess bounce. The ball flew off the outside edge of his bat and Jaiswal did well to dive forward and complete a catch.
Australia capitalized on some wayward new-ball bowling from Siraj and Krishna, running away to 39 for 0 in the fourth over. Prasidh provided India with the breakthrough when he had Konstas miscuing a slog to mid-off for 22 off 17 balls.
After the second day’s play, Prasidh spoke of how he shifted from his stock length (back of a length) to a much fuller one after a chat with the analyst. However, on Sunday, with the harder, newer ball, he gleaned more bounce and seam movement with his natural length. After smacking Marnus Labuschagne on his elbow, Prasidh had him steering a catch to gully.
For the second time in two days, more than 40,000 fans at the SCG were poised to celebrate Smith scaling 10,000 Test runs, but Prasidh had other ideas and snared him one shy of the landmark with a prancing delivery. Smith will now have to wait until the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle later this month for his next opportunity to become the 15th Test batter to join the 10,000 club.
India had to wait until after lunch to get rid of Usman Khawaja. The opener misjudged Siraj’s length, bottom-edging a pull to Pant for 41 off 45 balls. India felt that they were onto something. Siraj roared while Virat Kohli, who stood in as captain, charged towards his bowler from the slips and animatedly pumped his fist.
Travis Head and debutant Beau Webster, however, changed the mood and the game quickly. When Nitish Kumar Reddy offered up a wide half-volley in his first over, Head stayed leg-side of the ball and unleased a rasping blow through the covers. At the other end, Webster was less adventurous, but still scored at a fast clip, thanks to his long reach, which messed with the lengths of the bowlers.
Australia still needed 91 runs when the second session began but India being short of a third frontline pacer hurt them. Siraj and Krishna had to continue bowling after lunch and expectedly dipped in speeds and bite. Siraj still got Usman Khawaja to nick one behind and keep Australia on their toes but Webster joined Head and saw the rest of the chase through. As the partnership built, runs and boundaries came easily. Just after the drinks break, Webster put the finishing touches with a four off Sundar.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Pat Cummins the winning skipper said : Unreal. Few of us didn’t have this Trophy. Lived up to all the hype. Just been clear with our plans. We tried to be proactive, Ultimately worked out. Immensely proud. We weren’t at our best at Perth. We had a lot of fun playing alongside each other. I love playing with these guys. Such a special group. Feel privileged to be part of such a team.
Really proud of what we have achieved. Always nice to have a squad. Three debutants in this series fitted in well. They contributed in different times. Pretty happy with how I played. I had a fresh up coming into this series. These are the big series you prepare for. Some keen moments when our main stays really stood up. You need to do that to beat a side like India. Our guys put their hands up.
Would go down one of my most favorite Test series. Thanks to Rohit and Jasprit. The fans made the series. Every venue was incredible. MCG was off its head. Three sell outs in three days here at Sydney. Shows why Test cricket is so special and why we love playing it so much. Seeing everyone turning out in pink and celebrating an amazing cause is a great way to kick start the year.
Scott Boland Player of the Match for his 10-fer in the match said : Has been an enjoyable couple of months. The last few weeks have been awesome. Just got my body right. Lot of hours in the gym. To win 3-1 against India, hasn’t been done in a while. I am happy playing whenever I can.
Jasprit Bumrah the losing skipper and Player of the Series for his 32 wickets said : Little frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body, you can’t fight your body. Disappointing, probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series. Felt a bit of discomfort during my second spell in the first innings. The chat was about belief, the other bowlers stepped up in the first innings. With a bowler short, the others had to take responsibility.
The chat this morning was about the same thing, about having belief and showing character. Lots of ifs and buts, the whole series was fought hard, we were in the game today as well, not like we were out of it, this is how Test cricket goes. Being in the game for longer, creating pressure, absorbing pressure and playing to the situation are all important. You have to adapt to the situations and these learnings will help us in the future.
They’ve (youngsters) gained a lot of experience, they’ll go from strength to strength. We’ve shown that we have a lot of talent in our group. Lot of the youngsters are keen, they’re disappointed that we haven’t won but they’ll take learnings from this experience. It was a great series, congratulations to Australia, they fought really well.
Australia regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a silverware that had previously eluded them for a decade, and confirmed their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final alongside South Africa, after finishing off India inside three days at the SCG.
India’s hopes of staying in contention for the WTC final rested on Jasprit Bumrah, but without him those faded away. For someone who had a huge influence on this series, with the most wickets by an India bowler on a tour of Australia, it was a shame he couldn’t play a part in the final act.
After having left the SCG on the second day for scans on his back, Bumrah returned to bat at No.11 on the third day but wasn’t fit to bowl. All the early visuals had portended Bumrah’s absence. He didn’t warm up with the other bowlers and only did a bit of shadow-bowling. Then, after becoming the last India batter to be dismissed, for a duck, he didn’t take the field at all for India’s defence of 161. Given his history of back issues, India wrapped him up in cotton wool.
The target was a substantial one for Australia, especially on this spicy SCG surface, but it did appear a whole lot smaller when Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna sprayed the new ball around. The pair conceded eight runs via wild leg-side wides in the first two overs. Though Prasidh tightened up and took three wickets, including that of Steven Smith, Bumrah’s absence hung like Coleridge’s albatross around India’s neck.
The batters didn’t make it any easier for India’s depleted attack. They lost 4 for 16 in 7.5 overs on the third morning to fold for 157. Scott Boland, who might not have played this series had Josh Hazlewood been fit and might not be a certainty for Australia’s next Test assignment in Sri Lanka, bagged his first ten-wicket haul in professional cricket to hasten India’s collapse. Having taken four wickets on the opening day at the SCG, Boland added six to his tally – his second five-for in Test cricket since his 6 for 7 on debut, which was just as glorious.
Australia regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy after 10 years. Both teams are out in the centre to congratulate each other. Good to see Bumrah in the mix. The bigger concern heading into today’s play for India was about Bumrah’s injury. Irrespective of the runs, they needed the skipper with the ball but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Australia wasted very little time to close the Indian innings and despite removing three wickets inside lunch, the visitors were always made to look behind the game due to the absence of their premier fast bowler.
Travis Head and Beau Webster played with great control and didn’t really look to slog towards the end. That’s a crystal clear sign that the Aussies were here to prove a point and not throw it away in the name of ‘intent’. Who expected SCG to produce the most spiciest wicket of the series And for a Test match to get over in 2 and half days in Sydney.
Australia themselves would want to improve on a lot of facets. Khawaja isn’t the potent force that he used to be. Labuschagne’s inconsistency is another question mark. Smith and Head were amongst the runs and that saved the series for the hosts. Carey didn’t leave much of an imprint.
But Konstas and Webster are certainly men for the future. The famed bowling attack might have another regular dimension in the form of Boland from here on (at least at home) but even he is 35. So, Australia despite winning it 3-1 have a lof of questions of their own to answer.
It has been a long and arduous tour for India. They have been shown the mirror as well. If New Zealand exposed their lack of spin playing technique, Australia have exposed India’s batting as well as bowling reserves.
The likes of Jaiswal, Reddy and Sundar showed a lot of fight and might be the only silver linings of the tour. Rohit Sharma dropped himself for the last Test. That’s selfless but does he merit a place anymore in a Test line up which would need transition. Kohli is another of those links in the transition. His form and numbers have dipped despite the ton at Perth. Rahul started well but his returns again tapered off as the series progressed. Gill continues to be an under performer in the whites.
The performance at Perth clearly looks like an aberration now looking back for the Indians. They started well. But have put up meek shows thereafter. Adelaide was over even before India could realize what had hit them and the pink ball ensured Australian cricket was at the pink of its health. Gabba had a grey shade to it as it rained enough to save the blushes for India who celebrated after avoiding the follow-on. MCG had Reddy scoring a ton for the Indians but Smith’s hundred valued more.
India lost in the final session losing 7 wickets in a dramatic manner. Going into Sydney, India had a chance to level the scoreline. But the pitch was too spicy and Bumrah got injured which meant India were always behind the 8-ball. Pant played a freak knock in the second essay but the pattern of meek capitulation just had another episode. Australia had a tricky total to chase but minus Bumrah it was never going to be that tough.
Cricket is a team game. But individuals like Bumrah are the buoyant forces of a team. In his absence, Indians never stood a chance. It was all a matter of time. Yes, Krishna tried hard. But his inexperience showed when he kept bowling it too full. Siraj was far too off color to give him the able support and even he went off the field towards the end. A long tour and plenty of niggles didn’t help the visitors. Indians leaked runs and the end was catalyzed quickly in the middle session.
The out of form Khawaja didn’t have his nemesis Bumrah and was a different batter before falling to Siraj. Head found his mojo again and India’s miseries were put to rest after a keen tussle over the last two and a half days. Indians will go back to the drawing board and will have umpteen questions staring them. But team India has a break in this format and their next Test assignment is quite a few months away. Some stern calls will be made. Some heads will roll. But that’s the nature of transition.
South Africa v Australia for the WTC final at Lord’s on June 11. 2/2 as a captain for Pat Cummins. What a champion player! Spare a thought for Jasprit Bumrah though. So heavy was the burden he’s carried this series, the body just couldn’t take it anymore, And that on a day when his team needed him the most on the spiciest wicket of the tour. That is how it rolls in this game of glorious uncertainties…Allan Border hands over the trophy to Pat Cummins. His mates join in to pose for the photographs.