Australia’s Lyon comes out on top as spinners have a ball in India

Australia’s Nathan Lyon conjured up a spin masterclass in the third Test against India on Thursday and his figures of 8/64 were even more special coming against arguably the best players of spin bowling.

Spinners ran riot in Indore where 30 wickets tumbled in two days on a turning wicket which has been criticised for failing to offer a fair contest between bat and ball.

Australia, having bowled out India for 109 and 163, will need 76 runs on Friday to secure victory and Lyon would be the obvious choice for the player-of-the-match award should they achieve it.

The 35-year-old claimed 11 of those 20 Indian wickets in one of his finest bowling performances in a career spanning 118 Tests.

With Australia trailing 2-0 in the four-Test series and conditions offering little to the quicks, Lyon was tasked with leading their attack. He was backed up in the spin department by Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann both of whom made their debut in the continuing series.

Lyon bowled 23.3 of Australia’s total 60.3 overs against Indian batsmen known for their prowess against spin bowling and yet came up trumps though he developed cramps towards the end and needed medical attention to keep going.

Once the batters earned Australia a handy first-innings lead of 88, Lyon took it on himself to drive home their advantage. He removed both the openers early to deny India a strong start and the potential game-changing moment came when he had Cheteshwar Pujara (59) caught superbly at leg slip by Steve Smith just when the batsman was threatening to run away with the game.

It was a combination of Lyon’s guile and Smith’s superb anticipation that led to Pujara’s dismissal. “This is no disrespect to anyone else in that change room but I don’t think anyone else is catching it … hats off to Smithy,” Lyon told reporters.

“We see him do all the hard work. So to be honest with you, I’m not surprised but it was a massive moment for us to be able to finish off the day really strong.”

Reuters