By Nick Mulvenney

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Scott Boland has played 13 tests always as a replacement for one of the triumvirate of bowlers who have locked up the Australian pace attack for the best part of a decade but he rarely fails to deliver for his country.

The 35-year-old, standing in for the injured Josh Hazlewood for the second test in a row, again illustrated his quality on Friday when he took four for 31 from 20 overs to lead the charge as Australia dismissed India for 185 in the fifth test.

Outshining pace partners Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc on a tricky surface, Boland’s pace and movement off the seam troubled India’s batters all day.

“I think he’s been an amazing bowler,” said India’s Rishabh Pant, who Boland dismissed on Friday and in the fourth test in Melbourne last week.

“Because he’s so used to playing in these conditions, you don’t feel like he’s playing his first (few) matches. It feels like he’s been there for a long period of time.”

Beau Webster, the Australian all-rounder who made his test debut on Friday, knows Boland well from domestic cricket.

“He’s a difficult customer, Scotty,” the Tasmanian said. “If there’s anything in the wicket, he finds it. And if there’s nothing in the wicket, he still manages to find a way through.

“He’s been fantastic this whole series. When he’s got his chance, he’s relentless.”

Boland’s four wickets on Friday added to his six in Melbourne took him to 50 at an average cost of 18.88 runs over his stop-start career.

Webster had a grandstand seat to watch Boland bowling from third slip on Friday and took the catches for two of his teammate’s wickets, the second a blinder to remove Virat Kohli.

“I think his line and his length and his natural angle makes it really hard for righthanders but when we see him go around the wicket to lefthanders, it’s impressive stuff,” he added.

“It’s great to watch … just the amount of movement he gets, how accurate he is, and how challenging he is for both left and right handers.”

Webster, who missed out on a debut wicket on Friday but impressed in his 13 overs, said Boland’s personality meant his successes were celebrated by the whole team.

“He’s a ripper bloke so everyone’s really stoked whenever he does well, which seems to be all the time at the moment,” he said.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Amlan Chakraborty)