Understated Lyon reasserts his class

Off-spinner becomes most prolific bowler in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Nathan Lyon may not be the most celebrated Test spinner in the modern era. That honour is shared by Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble - three of the most prolific spinners in the history of the game. But Lyon has achieved what neither Warne nor Muralitharan could accomplish and that is to dominate Indian batsmen, the acknowledged masters of spin, in India.

In his nine Tests in India, Warne claimed 34 wickets at an average of 43.11 runs per wicket and a strike rate of 81 balls per dismissal with one five-wicket haul. Muralitharan fares even worse having finished with 40 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 45.45 and strike rate of 86.2 with two five-wicket hauls. Lyon has comfortably outbowled the two stalwarts with 53 scalps in 10 Tests. Each of those wickets comes at an impressive average of 26.05 and a strike rate of 47.3. With five five-wicket hauls in an innings and one 10-wicket haul in the match, he has troubled the Indian batsmen like few overseas spinners have managed on a such consistent basis.

Thursday was another example of his mastery of the Indian conditions when the 35-year-old scalped 8/64 on the second day of the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test here, leaving Australia, who will have to chase a target of 76 on Friday, poised for a first win of the tour.

It has been a remarkable comeback by the New South Welshman who had forgettable figures of 1/126 in the first Test in Nagpur where Australia were hammered by an Innings. He bounced back in Australia with a 5/67 and 2/49 in Delhi but in Indore, his effort has brought Australia to the verge of victory.

"To be honest, I was pretty happy with the way I bowled in Nagpur," Lyon remarked when asked about his comeback at the end of day's play. "I understand the quality of cricketers we are coming up against. I know the challenges against these guys, but I was pretty happy with the way I bowled in Nagpur. I was pretty pumped with (Todd) Murphy taking seven-for. Nothing has changed for me. It's about trusting my stock ball and doing the basics right. It's what I tell after every game."

We don't know whether his first job - curator - has anything to do with his success on the Indian pitches that are carefully curated (and rightly so) for home advantage but whenever he bowls, he seems to know what exactly he has to do in these conditions.

The only active spinner with over 450 Test scalps (479 to be precise) put his Thursday's haul on top of the shelf. En route his eight-wicket haul here, Lyon also became the highest wicket-taker (112) in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, surpassing Kumble's tally of 111.

"It's up there, no point lying about it," said Lyon. "I am really proud of the way we have gone about it. Personal success is great to have, but after Delhi, we had some good conversations as a team. I am prouder of the way we have gone about it as a collective group. It's certainly up there as one of my career highlights."

Lyon has seen some ups and downs in his career, but early in his international career, his father advised him to keep things simple and keep faith in the process. Lyon has followed this advice religiously and over the last decade, he has established himself as Australia's numero uno bowler in the post-Warne era.

"It's been an interesting one (his evolution as a bowler)," he noted. "At the start of my career, I think I felt the weight of trying to win games on the last couple of innings. It was actually my dad who sat me down and said 'look, if you do your role, some days you will have success and some days you won't... you are able to identify that and when it's your time, grab it and run it with both hands. My dad really simplified it for me, I guess. I made sure I wasn't overcomplicating and not putting too much pressure on myself because, at the end of the day, we are grateful for doing what we are able to do. It can be a high-pressure environment and if we are able to stay nice and calm and enjoy the battle, hopefully, some days we can have success."