3 reasons why Scott Boland would be India's biggest threat in BGT 2024
Australian pacer Scott Boland had the cricketing world buzzing with the wicket of ace batter Steve Smith in the Sheffield Shield clash between Victoria and New South Wales on October 22. The 35-year-old got the ball to nip back in sharply on the Melbourne surface to trap Smith LBW as he left the delivery.
It was a microcosm of what Boland was all about with the red ball, especially in Australian conditions with the ability to land the cherry on the money and seam it both ways. With three wickets already in the contest, the right-arm pacer has Victoria on the doorstep of victory.
Watching Boland work over Smith had fans wondering about the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under and what a handful he would be for the Indian batters.
On that note, here are three reasons Scott Boland would be India's biggest threat in the India-Australia five-Test series.
#1 Scott Boland starred in his lone Test against India
Team India have painful memories of Scott Boland from the lone Test they encountered the pacer. Replacing Josh Hazlewood for the all-important World Test Championship (WTC) final, Boland was Australia's star with the ball, nipping out the wickets of key Indian batters.
After the Aussies amassed 469, the Victorian removed the in-form Shubamn Gill with the new ball. Boland then returned to dismiss the wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat to help restrict India to only 296 in their first essay.
Yet, the veteran pacer wasn't done as he doomed India even more in the fourth innings during their run-chase. Boland once again removed Gill for a low score before landing the dagger blow with the wicket of Virat Kohli for 49.
He added another key scalp in Ravindra Jadeja to finish with three wickets in the innings as Australia wrapped up a 209-run victory to be crowned World Test champions.
Boland's match figures of 5/105 scarred several Indian batters, many of whom will be part of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
#2 Scott Boland boasts incredible Test bowling numbers in Australia
One will be hard-pressed to find a bowler with better numbers in Tests down under than Scott Boland. In his six home Tests, the pacer has picked up 28 wickets at a stunning average of 12.21 with a miserly economy of 2.20.
Boland picked up incredible figures of 6/7 in his debut Test during the 2021-22 Ashes in Melbourne. He has bagged at least three wickets in five of his 12 bowling innings at home.
Boland's relentless accuracy coupled with the ideal seam movement and bounce makes him an awkward customer to face for even the best batters. His bowling style is one that the quick-scoring and boundary-hitting Indian batters least prefer where they will often be required to play the waiting game.
What's more, Australia has won five of the six home Tests Boland has played in with the lone draw.
#3 Outstanding recent form on similar conditions
![Boland has picked up wickets in bunches in first class cricket this year [Credit: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/10/729ee-17295930944730-1920.jpg)
Scott Boland has picked up wickets for fun at the first-class level in Australia even this year despite his ouster from the national side after the Ashes last year. He has started the ongoing edition of Sheffield Shield in style as mentioned above with the wicket of Steve Smith.
Going back to the end of the previous edition, Boland finished with three strong outings earlier this year. He picked up 19 wickets in the three outings at an average of 13.05, including three innings of four or more wickets.
With an experience of 105 first-class and a majority of them coming in Australia, Boland's 380 wickets at an average of 24.07 is nothing short of extra ordinary, making him a massive threat for the Indian batters.