Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has now surpassed legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev to enter the list of top ten wicket-takers of all time in Test cricket
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has now surpassed legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev to enter the list of top ten wicket-takers of all time in Test cricket. The veteran Aussie spinner accomplished this during the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium in Galle on Friday. Lyon was at his destructive best throughout the match, taking 5/90 in the first innings that bundled out Sri Lanka for 212. He later took 4/31 in the second innings, restricting the Lankans to merely 113.
Lyon now has 436 wickets, surpassing Dev’s tally of 434 wickets.
His exploits with the ball were of great help to his side, which got the target of only five runs, which they chased down easily and won the game by two wickets.
Niroshan Dickwella (58), Angelo Mathews (39) and captain Dimuth Karunaratne (28) put forward notable contributions for their side.
Nathan Lyon (5/90) was the star of Australia with the ball. Spinner Mitchell Swepson also took 3/55. Pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc got a wicket each.
In the second innings, Australia gained an advantage by putting 321 runs on the board. With this, they gained a lead of 109 runs.
Cameron Green (77) and Usman Khawaja (71) slammed valuable half-centuries for the Aussies. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey also made a solid 45. The rest of the Aussie batters could not do much for their side.
Except for a 57-run stand between Khwaja and Green and an 84-run stand between Green and Carey, Sri Lankan bowlers captured wickets at regular intervals and troubled Aussies.
Spinner Ramesh Mendis was the pick of the bowlers for Lankans, taking 4/112. Pacer Asitha Fernando (2/37) and spinner Jeffrey Vandersay (2/68) also made key contributions for Lankans with the ball.
In the third innings, with a 109 runs lead in their pocket, Aussie bowlers put on a dominating performance, skittling out Lankans for 113. Except for captain Karunaratne, no batter could touch the 20-run mark.
This innings belonged completely to the Aussie spinners. Lyon took 4/31, while
Travis Head surprised Lankans with his bowling, taking 4/10. Swepson got 2 wickets for 34 runs.
Australia was set merely 5 runs as their target, as Sri Lanka could end up with a lead of only four runs. Aussies chased this down without breaking a sweat.
Cameron Green was adjudged as ‘Man of the Match’ for his brilliant 77.
Brief Scores: Australia 321 and 10/0 (David Warner 10*) defeated Sri Lanka 212 and 113 (Dimuth Karunaratne 23, Pathum Nissanka 14, Travis Head 4/10) by ten wickets.
