Bangladesh vs Australia: Nathan Lyon's seven-for proves he has become potent weapon in subcontinent

14 June, 2015 - Jamaica Nathan Lyon was conferred the tag of Greatest (in his trade) of All Time or ‘GOAT’ by his teammates after he went past Hugh Trumble’s tally of 141 Test scalps in the second Test of the series against the West Indies in Jamaica. He became Australia’s best off-spinner in the history of Test cricket on that day. But Lyon was by no means as good as the tag suggested and still had quite a few criticisms to answer. 4 March, 2017 - Bengaluru [caption id=“attachment_4012561” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Australia’s Nathan Lyon appeals during Day 2 of the 2nd Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong. AFP[/caption] Lyon ripped India apart in the second Test of the series at Bengaluru to finish with figures of 8/50. His spell came out of the blue for the Indians who were enjoying a wonderful home season until Steve O’Keefe and Co had spoiled their party in the first Test of that series. Now it was Lyon’s turn. He dismissed the bulk of India’s batting to finish with his career best figures. However, Australia went on to lose the Test. 25 March, 2017 - Dharamsala Once again Lyon played spoilsport to India’s plans, this time in the fourth Test of the series at Dharamsala, a ground known for assisting the faster men, as he picked up another five-wicket haul, his second of the series. He had the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair amongst his scalps. His figures, which came in the first innings of the Test like at Bengaluru, read 34.1-5-92-5. 27 August, 2017 - Dhaka This time Bangladesh were at the receiving end of another Lyon heist. Australia had returned to the Bangladesh shores after 11 long years and the GOAT stood up and fought a lonely war against the hosts. He finished with nine wickets in the first Test including a 6/82 in the second innings. In the process, he went past Richie Benaud’s tally of Test wickets. But unfortunately, it was not enough to take his side to a victory. 5 September, 2017 - Chittagong Once again Lyon was at the forefront for Australia on a flat pitch at Chittagong in the second Test of the series. Lyon opened the bowling attack - the first time a spinner had done so for Australia in the first innings of a Test since Bill O’Reilly did it in 1938 at Nottingham - and alongwith Pat Cummins, he ripped the Bangladesh top order apart. Lyon had all four of Bangladesh’s top order batsmen leg before wicket, a record in itself, before running through their lower order to finish with figures of 7/94. He went past Glenn McGrath’s tally of wickets in Asia with Shane Warne the only Australian ahead of him in these conditions.

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Lyon now has five-wicket hauls in three consecutive Tests. Actually, he has four five-wicket hauls in the last five Tests in which he has played, with all of them coming in Asian conditions. This might seem pretty ordinary if you have been following Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. But Lyon is neither of them. In fact, his record in Asia before the Indian tour does not please your eye. He had played 11 Tests in the Asian subcontinent taking 42 wickets at an appalling average of 42.57. It included just two five-wicket hauls. However, since the start of the Indian tour this year, Lyon has had 35 wickets in six Tests at an average of 21.00 and a best of 8/50. He has had four five-fors as well, twice that of what he had in Asia in the previous five years. Lyon’s rise from an apprentice groundsman to Australia’s premier spinner in Tests is a fairy tale. Like most Australian spinners, his enterprising start in Test cricket faded off and in 2013 he was dropped from the Test side for the first time. But being a fighter, Lyon returned to the setup and added consistency to his resume in the coming years. Last year, before the Test series against South Africa Down Under, Lyon was set to be dropped again after a slew of lacklustre performances. But he silenced one and all with a superb show in the pink ball Test at Adelaide which Australia went on to win. Lyon’s career has been all about these inspirational comebacks. In 2017, he is close to scaling quite a different peak. He is closing in on Ashwin and Jadeja in the wickets column for the year. Ashwin and Jadeja both have 44 wickets in eight and seven Tests respectively at averages of 26.95 and 22.40. Lyon is close behind the duo with 40 victims in seven Tests this year at an average of 23.75. He has already had four five-wicket hauls in 2017, the highest for any bowler, while his strike rate is also way better than the Indian spinners. But the Australian has taken inspiration from Ashwin’s dream home season. “I’ve watched a lot of footage of Ashwin, who in my book is probably the No 1 spinner in the world. So in these conditions it’s all about adapting and learning and probably putting your ego aside, and what works for me in Australia probably doesn’t really work here in the subcontinent,” Lyon revealed after day one of the second Test against Bangladesh at Chittagong. “I have to put my ego away and really bowl with confidence; in my terms ‘bowl ugly’. That might be round-arm for me, trying to undercut the ball a little bit more, but using my stock ball as a variation. I think I have learnt a lot in the subcontinent and I am embracing the challenge,” he added. Lyon has definitely learnt a lot in the subcontinent. From a spinner who relied on consistency in line and bounce as his premier weapons, Lyon has come a long way. He undercuts the bowl a tad, has a really tricky arm ball and bowls much better to the left-handers than before. With performances like these Lyon is quickly climbing up the Australian wicket-takers’ chart. He is at No 7 now with 263 wickets. Warne is the only spinner above him in that list. Even in the overall wicket-takers’ list, he has gone past the likes of Graeme Swann and only four off-spinners have more wickets than him in Test cricket. Those are impressive numbers for a 29-year-old who is yet to reach the so-called peak of his career.