The world saw perhaps the greatest bowling performance in a Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) when Jasprit Bumrah single-handedly carried Team India. He was simply unplayable, getting 32 wickets (the most) at an incredible average of 13.06. While this is certainly an insane average, another bowler who danced batters to his tune was Scott Boland, who also averaged 13.19 in the series.
No Hazlewood, no problem for BGT 2024/25
Well, the threat of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood was always going to be massive at the 2024/25 series. India held the series since 2016 but failed to do so as Australia denied the Men in Blue a hat-trick of series wins Down Under. While Australia dealt a blow when they lost Hazlewood, who bowled in just three innings. However, Boland came in as a breath of relief.
Fascinatingly, it is Boland, who Rohit thought of as the “toughest he faced” at the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Speaking on Michael Clarke’s YouTube channel, Rohit said:
“He (Scott Boland) was the toughest to face. We checked his pitch map, as we wanted to see where we could score runs off him. 90% of it was just there and thereabouts. No width and no full balls, maybe a few, but not width at all. So, he comes with a straight run-up, jumps slightly wider, and hits the seam, which is slightly angular (Rohit explains how lethal Boland’s bowling is with technical details).
The Scott Boland factor
Boland’s bowling skills often draw comparison with Hazlewood’s style of artistry. Both are tall and try to rely on their consistent lines and lengths to make it tough for the batters. Boland, meanwhile, on spciy Australian decks was as lethal as anyone. His wrist position and angle make batters play inside the line but the genius of Boland lie in the fact that the ball tends to move away, leaving batters helpless.
Highest wicket-takers at BGT 2024/25
| Player | Inns | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasprit Bumrah | 9 | 32 | 6/76 | 13.06 | 2.76 | 28.37 | 3 |
| Pat Cummins | 10 | 25 | 5/57 | 21.36 | 3.19 | 40.08 | 1 |
| Scott Boland | 6 | 21 | 6/45 | 13.19 | 2.72 | 29.04 | 1 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 10 | 20 | 4/98 | 31.15 | 3.96 | 47.15 | – |
| Mitchell Starc | 10 | 18 | 6/48 | 28.66 | 3.36 | 51.11 | 1 |
