"As a captain, he's a dream...": Cummins hails Boland for 10-fer at Sydney

Sydney [Australia], January 5 (ANI): Following his side's win in the final Test at Sydney, Australian skipper Pat Cummins hailed pacer Scott Boland for his brilliant performances throughout the series, saying that he is a "dream" bowler to have as a captain.
Boland emerged as the biggest thorn in the eyes of the Indian team during this series. He took 21 scalps in three matches at an average of 13.19, with best figures of 6/45. He took a ten-wicket haul in the fifth Test. He was the third-highest wicket-taker in the series.
Speaking to the media in the post-match presser, Cummins said about Boland that he is a "seasoned pro" who has done well for Victoria in domestic cricket.
"Oh, he is just so good, Scotty. I love him. Yeah, whenever he comes in, you just know he is a seasoned pro. He has been doing it for years for Victoria. And he is well and truly good enough in Test cricket," said Cummins in the presser.
"He proves it time and time again. As a captain, he is a dream because he just loves bowling. He bowls uphill into the wind a lot of the time as well, so his figures are probably better than what they show."
"But he is just... You know what you are going to get from Scotty in his class every day. And, yeah, so happy for him to take ten-for," he concluded.
Boland made his Test debut for Australia in 2021 and has not made a lot of international appearances due to the presence of the much-accomplished trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. In 13 Tests, he has taken 56 wickets at an average of 17.66 and best figures of 6/7. He has also played 14 ODIs and three T20Is, having taken 19 wickets in these formats combined. Boland made his international debut in 2016 against India.
Coming to the SCG Test, India won the toss and elected to bat first. India was off to a disappointing start yet again as the top order threw away their wickets, especially Virat Kohli (17) who continued his struggles with outside off-stump deliveries.
However, the fight by Pant (40 in 98 balls, with three fours and a six), Ravindra Jadeja (26 in 95 balls, with three fours) and skipper Jasprit Bumrah (22 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six) pushed India to 185/10 in 72.2 overs.
Boland (4/31) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies and once again a thorn in the eyes of Indian batters. Mitchell Starc took 3/49 while Pat Cummins got 2/37.
In their first innings, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals even when Jasprit Bumrah (2/33) walked off the field due to an injury scare. Under the stand-in skipper Virat, India continued to dominate the Aussies, skittling them out for just 181 runs and taking a four-run lead. Debutant Beau Webster (57 in 105 balls, with five fours) had a fine showing with the bat and Steve Smith (33 in 57 balls, with four boundaries and a six) showed some attacking intent.
Prasidh Krishna (3/42) and Mohammed Siraj (3/51) were the top bowlers for India.
With a lead of four runs, India was off to a promising start thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 in 35 balls, with four boundaries) and KL Rahul (13) as they put on a 45-run stand. But Boland (6/45) troubled the Indian batting once again. Pant did put up a counter-attack with 61 in 33 balls (six fours and four sixes), but India was bundled out for 157 runs, setting up 162 for the Aussies to win. Bumrah could not bowl in the final innings.
Australia was in trouble for a while during chase of 162 runs at 58/3, but knocks from Usman Khawaja (41 in 45 balls, with four boundaries), Travis Head (34* in 38 balls, with four boundaries) and Webster (39* in 34 balls, with six fours) guided the team to a six-wicket win, despite fight put up by Prasidh Krishna (3/65).
Boland was the 'Player of the Match' for his ten-wicket haul while Bumrah walked away with the 'Player of the Series' award with 32 wickets. (ANI)