Even the India captain Rohit Sharma faced difficulty facing an Australia bowler during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 Test series. During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025, the formidable Australian bowling attack proved to be a big challenge for the Indian team. Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Australian side successfully ended India's long-standing dominance, clinching the prestigious trophy after a decade with a decisive 3-1 series win.
Despite Jasprit Bumrah's exceptional individual performance, earning him the Player of the Series award with an impressive haul of 32 wickets in five matches, it was the cohesive brilliance of the Australian pace bowling unit that ultimately gave the hosts the edge over India. The Indian batting order appeared uncharacteristically unsettled for a significant portion of the series.
Rohit Sharma identifies Scott Boland as most challenging Australian bowler he faced
While the established trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood have long been recognised as one of the world's premier pace-bowling combinations, they also received valuable support from Nathan Lyon, an esteemed off-spinner in the annals of cricket. Interestingly, however, Rohit Sharma identified Scott Boland as the most challenging bowler he faced from the Australian contingent.
Rohit Sharma disclosed that the Indian team went to the extent of analysing Scott Boland's bowling pitch maps in an effort to devise strategies to score runs against him. He particularly commended Boland's exceptional accuracy. The Indian captain further elaborated that the veteran pacer's bowling angle presents a unique challenge for batsmen, making him a difficult opponent to handle.
"Scott Boland was the toughest to face. We checked his pitch map. We wanted to see where we can score runs off him. 90% of it was there and there about it. No width. No full balls. It is because of the angle. He comes with a straight run-up, jumps wider, and hits the seam like this," said Rohit on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast with Michael Clarke.
Scott Boland featured in three matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, stepping in for the absent Josh Hazlewood, and remarkably claimed 21 wickets. Despite being sidelined for two games, he concluded the series as the third-highest wicket-taker. Notably, Boland posed a significant threat to Virat Kohli, dismissing the modern-day legend on four occasions across five innings. Boland, who made his debut in Test cricket for Australia in 2021 at the relatively late age of 32, has played a total of 13 Test matches. In these appearances, he has secured an impressive 56 wickets, maintaining an outstanding bowling average of just 17.66.
Talking about Rohit's performance in the ongoing IPL 2025, Mumbai Indians' former captain isn't going through the best of his form. In a total of five matches, the Hitman has scored just 56 runs at an average of 11.20. He will next be seen in action in MI's next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 17.