Scott Boland is no longer the outsider in Australia’s big-three fast bowlers, the big three has become a big four to make room for him.

And the bustling Victorian, who dissected India’s top order again on Saturday, is now set to add to a Test career that was at risk of being a flash in the pan after he battled during the 2023 Ashes series.

Boland took 4-40 when Australia needed him most on day two at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Mitchell Starc’s radar needed recalibrating and captain Pat Cummins had struggled to make any early inroads against an onslaught from Yashasvi Jaiswal.

That included the prized scalp of Virat Kohli, who he dismissed for the fifth time in his career, and both openers Jaiswal and KL Rahul.

His nagging length and some nibble off a surface offering plenty helped put India on the backfoot ahead of a likely final day where they may not have their own pace bowling weapon, Jasprit Bumrah.

It was the latest in an expanding series of much-needed match-winning spells by the man who didn’t make his Test debut until he was 33.

Now 35, Boland has played 12 Tests. That’s 12 more than he could have dreamed of just a few years ago, but is now likely to be the first part of a career that could reach around 30, all things going well for him over the next couple of years.

And it is becoming increasingly likely that will include matches in Sri Lanka from later this month.

Cummins will miss the two Tests in Galle, from January 29, to stay at home for the birth of his second child.

It is also unlikely Josh Hazlewood will be risked after missing four of the five Tests against India with a side strain at a venue where there is a greater emphasis on spin and wickets that present the risk of long and gruelling innings with only two quicks.

The left-arm-right-arm, swing-and-seam combination of Starc and Boland is a good chance to be rolled out alongside a pair of spinners.

It will be a different challenge for Boland, who has played just four of his Tests away from home. He has taken just seven wickets overseas and none in his only innings on the sub-continent.

If he goes well, there could be another World Test Championship final on the horizon.

Nathan Lyon, who has barely bowled this summer, will be one of those tweakers, with left-arm orthodox Matt Kuhnemann a good chance to be alongside him.

And it will open the door to Boland adding another chapter to a storybook Australian cricket career.