On what was an uncharacteristic spin-friendly surface at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, Nathan Lyon bowled Australia to a Test match win against New Zealand by 172 runs. He recorded figures of 4/43 and 6/65 in the match.
This amazing performance from Nathan Lyon in a country where spinners don’t get much purchase has reopened up the debate among fans over who is the greater off-spinner – and the best offie of this generation – between Lyon and India’s R Ashwin.
With Kane Williamson managing single-digit scores in both innings – he was run out for a duck in the first and dismissed by Lyon for 9 in the second innings – New Zealand found themselves behind in the game. They were bowled out for 196 in the chase of 368. After the match, the Kiwi captain Tim Southee suggested he got his selection wrong by picking 4 seamers on a Basin Reserve pitch that spun the most he’s ever seen in his career.
Talking about Nathan Lyon, he became only the 10th spinner ever to take 10 wickets in a Test in New Zealand and only the 3rd to do it at the Basin Reserve. Lyon established his place in history by becoming only the third spinner in the history of Test cricket to to take a five-for in nine different countries, behind Muralidaran and Warne.
Australian Test captain Pat Cummins said that Nathan Lyon is a “Captain’s dream really.”
This performance from Australia’s ‘GOAT’ off-spinner has now further fired up the debate on Twitter among the fans between Lyon and India’s R Ashwin. Both off-spinner recently took their 500th Test wickets, and a significant portion of fans feel Lyon is a greater off-spinner than Ashwin.
Who is greater Nathan Lyon vs R Ashwin: check the reactions of fans
Cummins added about leading Nathan Lyon, “There’s the real sense of calm out there when you know you’ve got someone that good on a wicket that’s giving him a little bit of help.
“You can get creative with some of the field placements knowing he’s going to land it exactly where you want it to. Just always felt like he was in control and always felt like we had Plan B, C, D that we could go to as well but never really felt like we had to. Yeah, an absolute dream.”
Also Read: [Watch] MS Dhoni Plays Dandiya On Garba Song With Dwayne Bravo At Ambani Pre-Wedding
