Aussie offie Nathan Lyon draws appreciation from Sachin Tendulkar

Nathan Lyon has arguably been among the most talented spinners Australia have ever produced in their cricketing history. He forayed into the format against Sri Lanka back on August 2011 and hasn’t looked back ever since. The New South Wales-born off-break bowler has picked up 331 wickets in the 82 matches he has played thus far and has been a headache for a number of opponents.

The 31-year-old tweaker has tasted a significant amount of success against India, the players of which are historically known as good against spin. Against India, Lyon has notched 77 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 31.22 with as many as seven five-wicket hauls, one of them coming in Australia’s ongoing Test match against Virat Kohli and Co at the new Perth Stadium.

Lyon dominates with the ball

He has been exceptional with the ball and was one of the primary reasons why the hosts managed to garner a lead of 43 runs after the first innings. He opened his account with Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket and then accounted for Rishabh Pant’s wicket. The Indian lower-order, involving the likes of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah didn’t have an answer to Lyon’s class.

He ended with figures of 34.5-7-67-5. Previously, he also picked up a fifer at the same venue, representing NSW in their encounter against Western Australia. Hence, his performance didn’t spring a surprise by any stretch of the imagination. In the meantime, Sachin Tendulkar, the former Indian batsman, is highly impressed with Lyon’s magical show with the ball in hand.

The veteran said that Lyon did an excellent job in extracting the maximum from a wicket, which didn’t have much to offer for the spinners. He took to Twitter wrote, “Australia have got a very special spinner in @NathLyon421. He has got terrific variations and uses the pace and bounce from the pitch to extract maximum value. #INDvAUS,”

Here is Sachin’s tweet

Australia have got a very special spinner in @NathLyon421. He has got terrific variations and uses the pace and bounce from the pitch to extract maximum value. #INDvAUS

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 16, 2018

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