In the third Test, Australia takes on Pakistan, and Lyon is on the verge of breaking this record.
When Australia takes on Pakistan in the third Test match in Lahore on Monday, Nathan Lyon is on the brink of passing great spinner Shane Warne. On a tense final day, Lyon, one of the finest modern-day spinners in the game, bowled well to capture back-to-back wickets of Babar Azam (196) and Faheem Ashraf. Mohammed Rizwan, on the other hand, hit a century and held on to rescue Pakistan’s day.
Babar missed a double century by a whisker, but created a lengthy combination with Abdullah Shafique (96) that kept the hosts in the game for a long time. Australia was three wickets away from a victory. Lyon concluded the innings with figures of 4/112 after bowling a whopping 55 overs.
Returning to the record, Lyon is now just 26 overs away from delivering the most deliveries by an Australian bowler in Asia over a three-match Test series.
Shane Warne, who just died away, holds the record. This may be a fitting homage to his instructor, who is regarded as one of the greatest spinners on the planet. In 2004, Warne bowled 168 overs (1008 deliveries) against Sri Lanka in his first series back following a 12-month drug suspension. In the three-Test series, he took 26 wickets at an average of 20.04.
At Rawalpindi and Karachi, Lyon has bowled a total of 142 overs (852 balls). He’s taken six wickets in the Benaud-Qadir Trophy so far, making him Australia’s leading wicket-taker.
Andrew McDonald, Australia’s coach, seems unconcerned with his team’s failure in the fourth inning.
After Pat Cummins’ side was thwarted by Pakistan in the Karachi draw, Australia coach Andrew McDonald downplayed worries about the team’s inability to win Test matches from commanding situations.
Despite setting a 506-run target and bowling more than 171 overs, Australia came three wickets short of victory and a 1-0 series lead in the second Test.
In their previous 19 Tests, they’ve failed to bowl out opponents on day five for win five times. Interim head coach McDonald said Australia didn’t take use of their opportunities in Karachi, but they did manage to generate them.