'He’s can play through a lot of pain...': Scott Boland reveals Australia star's injury details after India's strong fightback on Day 3 of MCG Test

Mitchell Starc isn't having the best of outing in the ongoing fourth Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Mitchell Starc, who has been exceptional in the first three Tests, failed to make any impact on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test. On top of it, concerns arose regarding Starc's fitness too on Day 3. Australia's premier fast bowler experienced discomfort in his back while bowling, requiring attention from team physiotherapist Nick Jones. Despite these concerns, his teammate Scott Boland provided a positive update, stating that Starc is "okay.

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Starc's performance on Day 3 was not ideal, conceding 86 runs from 25 overs without picking a single wicket. However, Boland noted that Starc maintained impressive speed throughout his spell, consistently clocking speeds in the 140s. Boland also provided an update on Starc's back issue and said that he just had a bit of a niggle somewhere in his back or rib, but is fine now.

“He’s okay. He just had a bit of a niggle somewhere in his back or rib, I don’t know, somewhere back there, but he came out after the break and was bowling 140km/h, so I think he’s going to be fine,” Boland said in the press conference after the end of Day 3's play.

Boland drew a parallel to the 2022 Boxing Day Test against South Africa, where Starc displayed remarkable resilience. Despite sustaining a finger injury on his left hand, Starc continued to bowl with utmost grit.

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“I think he is underrated for how tough he is. A couple of years ago here at the MCG, he had a broken finger and we’re pretty much planning for him not to bowl at all and then he came out and bowled 140km/h swingers,” Boland added.

“He’s someone who can play through a lot of pain, and you can probably tell (that because) he’s played close to 90 Test matches now. And as a fast bowler, there’s not many games where you do play without any niggle at all. He’s someone who can still bowl at the same pace even when he is really sore, which is a great trait to have,” Boland concluded.

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Talking about the match, India staged a robust fightback on Day 3 riding on Nitish Kumar Reddy's maiden century. However, India are still trailing by 116 runs despite posting 358/9 on the board in reply to Australia's first innings score of 474. Boland led the charge for Australia with three wickets. Captain Pat Cummins to chipped in with three wickets.