Scott Boland- The Perfect Replacement For Jos Hazlewood
After a terrific bowling display by India in first innings, Scott Boland in return in the second innings once again troubled India which at one point felt India will be all over under 100 runs until Rishabh Pant stepped in and hit a 6 on the very first ball he faced against Scott Boland
During the lunch break on the second day, Rohit Sharma addressed the situation, clarifying that he had missed the Sydney Test and is not yet retiring from Test cricket. Shortly after the break, Jasprit Bumrah, who had assumed captaincy in Rohit’s absence, departed from the SCG for an examination. At that point, Australia had already lost half of their team, and the match—and the series—was hanging by a thread. In spite of Bumrah’s absence, India secured a four-run lead in the first innings, transforming the Sydney Test into a contest of the second innings. However, the dynamics of the second-innings shootout could shift in favor of Australia if Bumrah is unable to bowl again in this Test.
India’s supporting bowlers performed exceptionally well on the second day, as Prasidh Krishna and Reddy combined to take five wickets. The Indian seamers, excluding Bumrah, achieved impressive overall figures of 8 for 132— their best performance in any innings during this tour.
Reddy claimed two wickets in consecutive deliveries, while Prasidh made a notable return to Test cricket by dismissing Steven Smith, Alex Carey, and debutant Beau Webster, who was Australia’s highest scorer with 57 runs off 105 balls.
Webster conYashasvi Jaiswal commenced India’s second innings with flair, smashing Starc for four boundaries in the opening over. KL Rahul also exhibited some aggressive play from the other end until Boland intervened and put a stop to India’s brisk start.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant`s Mayhem At SCG
He made his mark in his second over, getting Rahul to chop an onto his stumps, and just a delivery later, he clean-bowled Jaiswal with a beautiful delivery that angled in towards the middle and then seamed away late, beating the outside edge to hit the top of off stump. Scott Boland went on to dismiss Virat Kohli in a familiar manner, for a score of 6. This marked the eighth occasion that Kohli had been dismissed edging behind to the keeper or the slip cordon during this Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. He was so frustrated that he yelled at himself and hit his leg in anger.
Webster achieved his first Test wicket when he had Shubman Gill caught behind off the inside edge.
After spending nearly 150 minutes with the bat on the first day, scoring 40 off 98 balls, the true Pant emerged on the second day. He aggressively charged at his first ball from Scott Boland, who had just dismissed Kohli, and struck him for six over mid-on. He then attempted a reverse-ramp off his third delivery, and while he missed the connection, he didn’t hold back on his natural instincts throughout this innings.
Pant then targeted Webster for three consecutive boundaries, featuring a classic falling sweep-pull. He reached his half-century with a helicoptered six off Starc and celebrated the achievement with another six off the next ball.
Pant’s explosive batting forced Australia to adjust their bowling to shorter T20 styles. When Cummins bowled short and wide, trying to keep the ball away from Pant’s swing, he attempted to chase it and, unfortunately, edged it to the keeper. Scott Boland ended Reddy’s innings at 4, concluding a remarkable 15-wicket day in Sydney.
The day began with Bumrah taking the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne for just 2 runs, directing a glare towards non-striker Sam Konstas.
