Nathan Lyon

2023 - 3 - 2

Nathan Lyon smashes records during super spell in India (South Coast Register)

Nathan Lyon has become the most prolific bowler in Border-Gavaskar trophy history on his way to spinning Australia...

Harbhajan Singh (Ind) - 95 Ravichandran Ashwin (Ind) - 106 Anil Kumble (Ind) - 111

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Nathan Lyon proving to be Australia's unglamorous linchpin in India (The Guardian)

Spinner has gradually become a formidable operator in Asia, where he has more Test wickets than any other visiting player.

He was in and out of the side visiting India in 2013, and ineffective in Sri Lanka in 2016. Over time he has learned the variations and the craft. Lyon is now 10 wickets clear of Shane Warne on a list that is not often thought about but which carries weight: the most wickets in Asia by a player from outside the continent. After two days of the ongoing Indore Test, Lyon’s eight for 64 hangs in the balance. But there has been a sense from Indian camps over the years of not rating Lyon’s bowling, a feeling evident again after his indifferent start to the current series in Nagpur. Last time, India rallied in the third innings as Pujara batted for hours and made a half-century while guiding them to a lead. In the broader continent, Lyon has set up wins in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The previous time, Australia had bowled out India cheaply and then failed to take advantage by posting a lead of 87. This time he took them in the third innings of the match, not the first. This time, Australia bowled out India cheaply then failed to take advantage by posting a lead of 88. In Indore in 2023, Nathan Lyon took eight wickets for the second time. Instead of Pujara making 92, he was held at leg slip for 59.

3rd Test, Day 2: Nathan Lyon takes eight-fer as India bowled out for ... (News Room Odisha)

Indore: Premier off-spinner Nathan Lyon took his second eight-wicket haul in Test cricket to bowl out India for 169 in their second innings at the close of ...

His knock though was cut short by a stunner from Steve Smith, who dived to his right to take a one-handed screamer at leg-slip off Lyon. But his knock ended at 26 when Usman Khawaja took a one-handed stunning catch at mid-wicket off Mitchell Starc. For India, top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara stood tall with a valiant 59 off 142 balls, through his precise footwork on a difficult pitch to bat.

Nathan Lyon makes cricket history in never-before-seen feat against ... (Yahoo Sport Australia)

His seventh wicket of the innings - the dismissal of fast bowler Umesh Yadav - was the Australian great's 112th against India to break the record held by Anil ...

Lyon eclipses Warne with magical bowling spell (Wide World of Sports)

Nathan Lyon has done something even Shane Warne didn't manage as he put Australia on the doorstep of victo...

On a pitch where none of his teammates have looked settled, Pujara toggled between the gears expertly. Lyon now has 113 wickets in 25 Tests against India, with 53 of those coming on Indian soil. Lyon finished with 8-64 in 23.3 overs as he put a stranglehold on every single one of India's batters. [Steve Smith](https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/steve-smith) took a catch that will be replayed over and over for years to come. [clicking here](https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=wwos&redirect_uri=https://wwos.nine.com.au&newsletter=true)! [Nathan Lyon](https://wwos.nine.com.au/nathan-lyon) has continued to silence his critics with a terrific display of spin bowling to put [Australia](https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/australian-cricket) within touching distance of winning the [third Test against India](https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/australia-v-india-third-test-2023-live-scores-day-two-highlights-results-latest-updates/cceb0910-c287-4680-96c0-e8dde1a69571). [Glenn McGrath](https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/glenn-mcgrath) - were all pacemen. It was somewhat ironic that the two titans who have been written off time and time again, Pujara and Lyon, were the two shining lights in a war of attrition on day two. [Shane Warne](https://wwos.nine.com.au/shane-warne) could not manage during his storied career, becoming the first Australian spinner to claim an eight-wicket haul on multiple occasions in Test cricket. [India slammed over Test debacle](https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/news-2023-australia-v-india-third-test-indore-pitch-mark-taylor-reaction/5485b807-b5af-43cf-b822-f144c1f19b90) [Australia vs India third Test Day Two](https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/australia-v-india-third-test-2023-live-scores-day-two-highlights-results-latest-updates/cceb0910-c287-4680-96c0-e8dde1a69571) [Legend's 58-year feat inspiring NRL newbies](https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2023-dolphins-vs-roosters-round-one-peter-psaltis-exclusive-column/b05d42ee-7932-4a43-8d0e-4d11b7d14169)

Lyon's spell and Smith's blinder put victory within reach as Test ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

A spell to remember by Nathan Lyon and a catch for the ages by Steve Smith pushed Australia to within touching distance of a rare victory on Indian soil.

He targeted the short balls of a tiring Kuhnemann to put India in front, and the lead was soon growing rapidly. It shows the quality of cricketer he is that we see at training the different methods he is coming up with to try and get better and try and improve. Lyon’s appeal may well have been audible in Ahmedabad, but it took a referral to the third umpire to raise Joel Wilson’s finger. Only 30 runs accrued in that first hour, but you will go a long way to see better batting by a pair of Australians on so difficult a surface. “It was massive, to be honest with you and this is no disrespect to anyone else in the team, but I don’t think any one else is catching it,” Lyon said. The hosts fought hard to regather vast swathes of ground surrendered on the opening day, but

Steve Smith's game-changing catch to remove Cheteshwar Pujara ... (ABC News)

Nathan Lyon has hailed teammate Steve Smith after the acting Australia captain pulled off a classic, and potentially match-defining, catch against India.

[Lyon, who took 8-64 to become the leading wicket-taker in Border-Gavaskar Trophy history](/news/2023-03-02/india-vs-australia-third-test-day-two-indore/102045214), praised Smith's effort at leg slip as "massive". Plucked out of obscurity to debut for Australia in Sri Lanka in 2011, Lyon is now up to 479 Test wickets — eighth on the all-time list — with seemingly many more to come. "We had really good plans under both of them [Cummins and Smith] and that's where Australian cricket is in good hands with one of the best bowlers in the world and one of the best batters in the world being our two leaders."

Lyon banks on dad's wisdom and smart reviews to overcome Indore ... (ESPNcricinfo.com)

It was a tricky day with many close calls testing both him and the umpire, but Lyon thrived on day two.

Unlike in Bengaluru in 2017, he should be able to take on his other role of singing the team song in victory. On this occasion, Lyon got the decision on-field when Wilson gave Umesh Yadav lbw only for the review to show that this time the ball was turning past leg stump. The Ashwin scalp gave Lyon his second five-wicket of the series and his 23rd overall in Tests. On this tour, especially in the last two Tests, he has beaten batters on both edges, primarily operating from round the wicket to keep all modes of dismissal in play. And this time, he will likely have bowled Australia to victory, unless a remarkable game has one more epic twist as they chase 76 on the third day. A wild heave from Mohammed Siraj and Lyon had an eight-wicket haul in India for the second time. After Shubman Gill's wild hoick in the first over after lunch, he slid one into Rohit Sharma's pads. That was until a moment of brilliance of Smith - dodgy back and all - who pulled off a spectacular catch at leg slip, something they had been bowling for, when Pujara flicked at a delivery outside leg stump. "So it was my dad who just simplified it for me and made sure I wasn't overcomplicating things and putting too much pressure on myself. But it was actually my dad who sat me down and said 'there are three or four other bowlers who you're able to bowl with in partnerships and if you do your role. On the latter occasion, he had barely stopped imploring when he signalled for the review himself, before Steven Smith made it official. Twice he roared appeals for lbw, down on his knees, accompanied by the phalanx of close catchers.

Nathan Lyon

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