It was total carnage with ball in hand for two and a half days in Sydney, but it’s ended in Australia winning back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 3-1 scoreline.

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Scott Boland has once again proven that he is a one-of-a-kind bowler, and the conundrum that he is causing selectors right now has never been bigger.

At the other end of the batting order sits Sam Konstas, a 19-year-old who Australia have unearthed as a talent for the next 15 years at international level. He has been a revelation like no other this summer, but what are the big learnings for him beyond this summer?

Here are the biggest Talking Points from the fifth Test and series between Australia and India!

‘BORN AT THE WRONG TIME’: AUSSIE ‘FREAK’ CREATES FRESH CONUNDRUM

The big three has become the big four.

Scott Boland has been the Test side’s perennial 12th man since his stunning debut at the MCG in 2021, but the Victorian seamer continues mounting a case for more frequent appearances in the baggy green.

Despite missing matches in Perth and Brisbane, the Victorian seamer finished the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 21 wickets at 13.19, including a career-best performance in Sydney.

Boland claimed 10/76 across the New Year’s Test, ripping through India’s top order on day two and removing superstar Virat Kohli in both innings.

The 35-year-old boasts an incredible record in home Tests, taking 49 Test wickets at 12.63 on Australian soil. No cricketer in history has better numbers.

“This guy is a freak,” former Australian speedster Brett Lee told reporters on Saturday.

“I get asked in the street, Scott Boland bowls 134km/h, why don’t batsmen target him? Well, you can’t, because he’s Mr Consistent, he literally puts the ball on the spot, a good 5.5m length, every single ball.

“But it’s what he does with the seam. He hits the rope consistently … if I was to emulate it, it’d have to be a massive leg-cutter.

“His consistency, his temperament, and he’s under the radar. He’s literally the world’s nicest guy. He doesn’t ask for the accolades, and he catches people off guard.

“This guy would play Test cricket anywhere (else) in the world as the number one bowler.”

Boland will no doubt get more opportunities in the Test side, perhaps even during next month’s tour of Sri Lanka. Cummins is expected to miss the series for the birth of his second child, while Hazlewood and Starc are both nursing minor injuries.

However, if all four quicks are fit and firing ahead of next summer’s Ashes series opener against England at Perth Stadium, who misses out?

“The conundrum is that you’ve got Hazlewood, Starc and Cummins, who have achieved so much,” Lee continued.

“My gut says you have to pick those three guys every day of the week … if Hazlewood gets his fitness back and is ready to play, unfortunately you have to go with Josh Hazlewood, and when I say unfortunately, (I mean) unfortunately for Scott Boland.

“A fit Josh Hazlewood gets into any Test line-up, in my opinion. What do you do when three doesn’t go into four? It’s a tough one.”

Lee compared the situation to when former Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill spent the majority of his Test career waiting in the wings behind the legendary Shane Warne.

“Scott Boland cannot do anymore to push for selection … it’s a bit like (Stuart) MacGill and (Shane) Warne, that’s probably the best analogy I could say,” Lee said.

“Stuart MacGill took 200 Test wickets as a back-up bowler to Shane Warne, but he wasn’t a back-up bowler, he was a number one spinner anywhere (else) in the world.

“Boland’s got that same unlucky thing, being born at the wrong time when Australian fast-bowling is so good, so strong.”

Speaking to reporters at the SCG, coach Andrew McDonald declared that Australia was “lucky” to have four world-class pace bowlers at their disposal.

“Every time he pitches up in the Australian colours, he delivers,” McDonald said at stumps on day two.

“We’re lucky to have those four quicks in Hazlewood, Cummins, Starc and Boland. The ability to keep them fit all together gives us options.

“We’re not surprised by Scott’s performances. Every time he plays, he does a job well.

“His ability just to be relentless on a length, move the ball both ways, is proving difficult, in particular on this surface.”

KING KONSTAS SET TO LIVE AND LEARN

The wild events that led to Sam Konstas becoming Australia’s youngest-ever Test opener somehow still doesn’t reflect his start to life as an international cricketer.

Thrown into the deep end in front of over 373,000 people on debut at the MCG for Boxing Day, Konstas took down the world’s best bowler in Jasprit Bumrah with unorthodox – but effective – ramp shots on either side of the wicket. It was magical and gutsy to say the absolute least, but it worked.

Since his 60 in the first innings in Melbourne, Konstas has made scores of 8, 23 and 22. Each innings has shown an ultra-aggressive approach that really only ever been seen once at professional level before his debut. That was against India for the PM’s XI on December 1 in Canberra in a reduced-overs pink-ball match.

Exciting to watch? Absolutely. His hand-eye co-ordination? Incredible for a 19-year-old. Cult hero already? Sure is.

Konstas is evidently a cricketer who, if he chooses, can have an international career spanning more than 15 years. He could well be a generational talent.

But, how sustainable is his approach to Test cricket in the long run?

His second innings dismissal as Australia chased down 162 to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 was one that highlighted the double-edged sword that he was lived by in his first two Tests. A genuine hack across the line to a length ball that skied high to mid-off.

“That’s not a good shot. Over time, he’ll realise he’s a better player than that. He was playing quite nicely … (but) this is just an almighty slog,” former England captain Michael Vaughan said on Fox Cricket after Konstas’ dismissal.

“He’s clearly a better player than having to play that stroke.

“That’s an almighty hack.”

A deficiency in his game to length, in-swinging deliveries has been highlighted before, and his attacking nature we’ve seen certainly combats that to a certain extent. But the reverse ramps, charging down the wicket and pre-meditated heaves are low percentage cricket shots that won’t come off more times than not.

As Vaughan alluded to on commentary, there is undoubtedly a middle ground that Konstas can meet in the form of strokeplay. He has talent, confidence and hard work all behind him that will set him up for a long, illustrious career at the Test level.

How Australia’s batting order will look on its upcoming tour of Sri Lanka later this month remains to be seen, with the promotion of Travis Head up to the top of the order not totally out of the question.

However, should the opportunity to open arise on the sub-continent, you would suspect a more controlled approach from the get-go. He is more than compact enough to play a game where not every second scoring shot is a risk.

Konstas is an emerging star, if he isn’t one already, and he’s clearly had an immeasurable impact for the better on Australian cricket since his inclusion. So it’s scary to think how high his ceiling actually is once he combines his attacking mindset into more high percentage strokeplay.

BLESSED ARE AUSTRALIA WITH THE KING QUARTET

In the aftermath of Australia’s decisive finish with the ball to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Sydney, former star fast bowler Brett Lee was succinct in his praise.

“The four bowlers for Australia have done the job once again, led beautifully by Pat Cummins,” the Fox Cricket expert declared.

While conditions favoured bowlers around the country, perhaps aside from Melbourne, the Australians overall figures against India for the series was 86-2,126.

The Indians did not lose a wicket in the second innings of the rain-marred Test in Brisbane and declared six down in Perth, but made what equates to 212 runs per innings.

The tourists only surpassed 250 on three occasions, initially at Optus Stadium when making a mammoth 6-487, then in Brisbane when narrowly avoiding the follow-on with 260, and finally in Melbourne when making 369 runs in the first dig.

After suffering shell-shock when pulverised in Perth, Cummins presented in his usual composed manner and was adamant the Australians would rebound strongly.

Such was the whipping in the west, questions were asked about Australia’s preparation, with the skipper among those challenged as he leaked runs at a far higher rate than usual.

The criticism was accurate, for the Aussies were well beaten and looked toothless as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli seized control on the way to match-winning centuries.

But it is understood to have irked those who had devised a preparation designed to help the fast bowlers sustain their quality throughout a five Test summer stretching from November to January.

The unfortunate injuries to Josh Hazlewood aside, and the New South Wales quick has had his issues with side problems prior to the calf issue at the Gabba, a judgment can be made.

The Aussies clearly got it right, even if Mitchell Starc was a little banged up by the end, for the quartet of quicks that includes Scott Boland thrived as the series progressed.

To witness the quality of their bowling in Melbourne and Sydney at the tailend of the summer was a joy, with their discipline superb, their pace on point and their attitude relentless.

Jasprit Bumrah, clearly, was brilliant. But the Aussies were outstanding as well.

After starting with 3-153 from a tick over 40 overs, Cummins finished the series with 25 wickets at an average of 21.36 and was absolutely outstanding with the bat.

He openly acknowledged starting the series underdone and it was a gamble, but he was supreme when taking 20 wickets in the final four Tests.

Credit should be given to the management of Boland, for it is worth remembering the 35-year-old had a stint in County cricket cut short due to a knee problem midway through 2024.

He eased back into competitive play in a Sheffield Shield match against a New South Wales side including Sam Konstas in October and showed some rust, but continued to build.

When called on, he was remarkable and finished with his first 10 wicket haul in a match-winning display in the pivotal match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

To finish with 21 wickets at an average of 13.19 suggests the Victorian would have challenged Bumrah as the bowler of the series if he had played all five Tests.

After a brilliant performance in Adelaide, Starc tailed off in Sydney and Melbourne when hindered by a back problem, but importantly he was able to continue to bowl.

His presence even when playing in pain provided Australia with stability in what proved to be a critical finish to the series.

SMITH’S CRUEL WAIT FOR MEGA MILESTONE TO CONTINUE ABROAD

The “Don” famously needed four. Steve Smith, considered by man the “best since Bradman”, wanted five. But cricket can be the cruellest of sports, forever biting back at its most brilliant.

For the third day in succession, a massive crowd filled in to the SCG hoping to see, among other features, the brilliant Sydneysider tick off one of cricket’s most significant milestones.

The Koragah-born champion, fresh from back-to-back centuries at the Gabba and MCG, was on route to become just the fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Test runs this weekend.

To join legends Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Allan Border on his home ground, in one of Australia’s biggest Tests in a decade, on his home ground appealed as a fitting plot.

But just as Bradman was bowled for a duck in his final innings when he needed only four runs to average 100, Smith was denied a fairytale moment in his career on the SCG.

A loss of concentration on Saturday shortly before lunch saw the star fall for 33 to Prasidh Krishna, meaning he required five runs in Australia’s second innings to reach the milestone.

It seems the nervous 90s have nothing on the nerve-wracking 9,990s, with all in attendance on edge when Smith walked into bat before lunch on Sunday. And it was not just because the Border-Gavaskar Trophy remained in the balance. Could the champion deliver?

It was not to be.

Just as West Indian legend Brian Lara stuttered within a couple of boundaries of the milestone, Smith nudged his way to four before falling short after copping another beauty from Krishna, with Indian broadcaster Harsha Bhogle providing a perfect summation.

“Sometimes you come to magnificent arenas like this and you want to see wonderful things happen to people and yet that is what our sport is about. There are moments which are tinged with sadness,” Bhogle said.

“It must be heartbreaking. 9,999. A mere single. How many singles has he taken in his entire career? And this one eluded him.”

It left Border, who was on hand to present the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and clearly hoping to confirm the 15th member of the 10,000 club, among those lamenting his exit.

“It was a big disappointment for him and the crowd all knew he was on 9,999. So we wait, again,” he said.

Fascinatingly, only Mahela Jayawardene has also fallen on the four-figure tally. But he now has company in the form of one of Australia’s greatest.

The wait will be premature, but the stage somewhat off Broadway, with Smith certain to be among those travelling to Sri Lanka for the two Test series beginning later this month.

SPIN TAKES BACKSEAT AS SEAMERS DOMINATE SERIES

Leading into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the prospect that this would be a bowler dominated series always appeared possible given the trend in recent years.

But India’s success on their two most recent tours of Australia were borne in part on the brilliance of their spinners and it was anticipated this would be another battle of turn.

Australia fielded a champion in Nathan Lyon. India was blessed with the tantalising trio of Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, all willing to weave a web.

Instead it became a pace bowlers paradise, as demonstrated by the domination of Bumrah, Cummins, Boland and even Mohammed Siraj, who finished with 20 wickets for the series.

Astonishly, there were matches Australia’s greatest off-spinner was barely used.

Lyon was still the most effective of the spinners, finishing with nine wickets at an average of 36.88, with his best figures for the series 3 for 96.

Jadeja and Sundar, who was effective in Perth, each played three Tests, while Ashwin announced his retirement in Brisbane after playing a solitary match in Adelaide.

They managed only eight wickets between them for the series from the 100 potentially on offer across the five Tests and posed far less of a threat than on previous tours here.