Nathan Lyon has always been a troublesome customer for the Indian cricket team and ahead of the four-match Test series, many experts were of the opinion that the spinner will be the biggest threat for the visitors.
The 31-year old was back among wickets during Day 1 of the first Test in Adelaide as he dismissed Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant to take his tally against India to 66 wickets. That is currently the highest number of wickets he has taken against any opposition in Tests as he surpassed his tally of 65 wickets against England.
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Lyon has dismissed 15 batsmen five or more times in Tests and five of them are from India. Three of them are India’s biggest hope and they are Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli. The 31-year-old has dismissed Pujara seven times, Rahane six times and Kohli on no fewer than five occasions.
Rohit, in his attempt to unsettle the bowler, went for another big shot just after hitting a six but was caught in the deep by debutant Marcus Harris. Pant, who was looking in good touch, also ended up gifting his wicket to the veteran spinner as he was caught behind by Tim Paine after scoring 25 off 38 balls.
Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazelwood grabbed two wickets each as Australia seized control of the opening Test at Adelaide on Thursday, with only a stubborn Cheteshwar Pujara offering any real resistance.
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The experienced number three did what he has done many times before and stood his ground as wickets tumbled around him, including superstar Virat Kohli for three, with India stumbling to 143-6 at tea on day one.
First Published: Dec 06, 2018 10:53 IST
Source: HindustanTimes