It was a good day for Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon as he claimed 5/90 on the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday (June 29). Lyon’s five-wicket haul saw the visitors bundle out the Dimuth Karunaratne-led side for 212 in the first innings. The latest half-century for Lyon came after taking five wickets at the same venue 11 years ago and helped equal Shane Warne’s world record.
It was Lyon’s 20th five-wicket haul in Test cricket, placing him 22nd on the all-time list alongside New Zealand great Daniel Vettori and South African legend Allan Donald and among active cricketers behind England’s James Anderson (31). is in third place. and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin (30). Nine of those 20 five-wicket hauls have come on Asian soil, which puts them at the top of the charts for most five-wicket hauls in the continent. He stands with Warne, who had nine such figures in 22 appearances in Asia.
Lyon finished 12th in the list with 432 wickets in 109 Tests, surpassing Sir Richard Hadlee in the all-time wicket-takers list. He is now three wickets away from entering the top-10 list, overtaking Rangana Herath (433) and Kapil Dev (434).
Lyon said on Wednesday that the opening Test in Galle was balanced as his five-wicket haul helped bowl out Sri Lanka for 212, but the hosts bounced back and took three wickets on the opening day of the two-match Test series here. achieved. On the very first ball of his spell at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, Lyon got a tremendous amount of turn and bounce off the surface, leaving the Sri Lankan batsmen in awe.
“We always talk about the importance of knocking on the tails early and you look at the way Dickwella played, he played an incredible innings, he put pressure on us as bowlers. I was really proud of the way we came back after tea and stuck to our plans and we were able to get the prizes of late and finish them,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Lyon as saying.
Nathan Lyon took his 20th five-wicket haul on Day 1 at Galle! #SLVAUS
Here’s a look at Leon’s wickets: https://t.co/FT3dcx1fsJ pic.twitter.com/gWTgBVkUyo— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 29, 2022
Lyon broke soon after lunch for AustraliaDavid Warner took a brilliant diving catch while dismissing the dangerous batsman Karunaratne. His fellow spinner Mitchell Swepson was on a hat-trick a little later, dismissing Dhananjay de Silva and Dinesh Chandimal in successive deliveries.
“(Extra bounce) is one of my biggest weapons, there’s no secret. It’s something I’m very excited to see, obviously, spin and bounce are good signs,” he said. About that I’m asking different questions from different variations. Whereas in Australia I will probably stick to my strength which is my stock ball and trust in that. When you come here you have about three or four different variations that you can rely on and know you are going to get some assistance from the wickets,” he said.
“Look at my first ball today, she was on the fast side of things, and you saw how much she turned and jumped. Every bowler is different, but if you are able to go up and down in gears, then I think spin is only going to help you as a bowler in these conditions,” he said.
(with ANI inputs)