India vs Australia: ‘Lyon in his den’ - Team India’s biggest threat
Sydney: The first Test between India and Australia starts on December 17 at Adelaide and it will be a day/night affair. Given the nature of the pink ball and the history of day/night Tests in Australia, all the spotlight is on the pace bowlers from both camps.
Sydney: The first Test between India and Australia starts on December 17 at Adelaide and it will be a day/night affair. Given the nature of the pink ball and the history of day/night Tests in Australia, all the spotlight is on the pace bowlers from both camps.
Australia have the best exponent of the pink ball in their camp, Mitchell Starc. Then there is the impeccable duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood and all the noise is about how will India’s batsmen stack up against the pace and swing of these three cherry hurlers. But even if the Indians do get past these three, there is a bigger threat waiting for them. Australian off spinner Nathan Lyon has made it a habit to perform at his best against the Indians, traditionally known to be the best players of spin. But this generation of Indian batsmen tend to struggle against the turning ball and that is a well documented truth. What is impressive about Lyon is the fact that he has been successful against the Indians in Australian conditions, which do not provide much assistance to tweaker.
With 51 wickets to his credit against the Indians in Australia, he is in fact the only spinner apart from the great Muttiah Muralitharan to have picked more than 50 scalps against India in home conditions. Speaks volumes about his grip over Indian batsmen since Muralitharan bowled on dirt pits in Sri Lanka that helped the ball turn square mostly.
What is worrying for India is that two of their main top order batsmen are bunnies of Lyon. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been dismissed on 9 occasions by the off spinner and Lyon will be licking his lips once again.
Even Virat Kohli has fallen (7 times) to the guile of Lyon in the past. What is worrisome for India is the fact that Lyon hurts them when they expect it the least, He comes in and attacks the middle order at a time when the batsmen have perhaps just battled their way past the fast bowlers and might be feeling happy about their success. He breaks crucial partnerships and perhaps that is the reason why Nathan Lyon could just be the biggest threat for the Indian batsmen not just in Adelaide, but throughout the Test series.