'He was a major factor in Australia's BGT win'

Scott Boland finished with 22 scalps in three Test match in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series against India

Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin said that entry of pacer Scott Boland in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy proved to be a game-changer in favour of the Aussies, noting that the hosts would have lost without him.

Boland was exceptional throughout the series, troubling Indian batters with his tough-to-handle, relentless line and lengths. The highlight of his bowling was taking out Virat Kohli four times in the series.

The third-highest wicket-taker in the series, Boland picked 21 scalps in just three matches at an average of 13.19, with best figures of 6/45. He took a ten-wicket haul in the fifth Test at Sydney.

That apart, Boland's round-the wicket deliveries against Indian left-handers proved to be a "major factor" in Australia trumping India, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

'All said that Pat Cummins had a great series, but he struggled against left-handers. Australia was lucky that Scott Boland came into the team. If Boland had not played, India would have won the series. No offence to Josh Hazlewood; he is a fantastic bowler. But if they had continued with the same attack, we would have won. Boland's round-the-wicket deliveries to our left-handers were a major factor.'

'The series was on the line till the last session in Sydney. What a great series it was. As pure cricket, it was a class series, outstanding. Australia won the series after a tough fight till the last day. Usman Khawaja said after the series, 'I was Bumrah'ed (who took 32 wickets and emerged as the Player of the Series)' That shows how intense the series was,' said Ashwin.

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.

Boland's Test average is the eighth-best overall in Test history and the best since the first WW (1914-18) among bowlers with a minimum of 50 wickets to his name in the format. The best-ever bowling average belongs to England's George Lohmann, who took 112 wickets in 18 Tests from 1886 to 1896 at an average of 10.75, as per Wisden.

Among Aussies with 50 Test scalps, only Turner has a better bowling average of 16.53, with 101 wickets in 17 Tests.

Considering Boland's modern-day contemporaries with 50 Test wickets, Axar Patel (55 wickets at 19.34) has the next-best bowling average, followed by Jasprit Bumrah (205 at 19.40) and Kyle Jamieson (80 at 19.73).