Lyon played a pivotal role in ensuring Australia stayed in the contest by picking up six wickets as India collapsed from 234-3 to 307 all out
Australia's Nathan Lyon holds the ball up to the crowd after taking six wickets against India on Day 4. Pic/Getty Images
Nathan Lyon still believes Australia can pull off a remarkable victory despite having lost four wickets with still 219 runs to win heading into the fifth day of the opening Test in Adelaide.
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Lyon played a pivotal role in ensuring Australia stayed in the contest by picking up six wickets as India collapsed from 234-3 to 307 all out. Lyon, who used to be a member of the ground staff at the Adelaide Oval, bowled a marathon 42 overs in the second innings and with some more luck could well have had a couple of more wickets. It was Lyon's contest with India's top-scorer Cheteshwar Pujara that will be etched in memory of those who watched this Test.
The Indian No.3 had used the tactic of advancing and padding Lyon out of the rough throughout the Test. Pujara might have prevailed in the contest, but it was Lyon who had the last laugh.
He kept persisting by hitting the rough patch on a consistent basis and it finally led to one kicking up and hitting the gloves of Pujara. It was the wicket Lyon had been craving for close to two hours. It took him two balls to dislodged Rohit Sharma, as the Indian No. 6 pushed meekly at a sharp spinning off-break. The fact that Rishabh Pant backed his attacking instincts over his defence probably summed up the difficulties in facing Lyon on a fourth day pitch.
He ran through the Indian lower-order and finished the day with six wickets to end with match figures of 8-205. India had done plenty of work in the lead-up to the Test series to encounter Lyon. Batsmen practised out of bowlers' footmarks in the nets and batsmen tried various methods such as the sweep to confront the threat.
Lyon served Australia's purpose with the ball, but he will need his middle and lower order to contribute heavily if Australia are to pull off a miracle. "We still believe we can win this. We need not complicate things but enjoy ourselves, compete hard and fight our backsides off," he said.
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