The Australian veteran spinner Nathan Lyon broke the long-held record of the former Indian spinner Anil Kumble in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. His recent 8-wicket haul against the hosts took him ahead of Anil Kumble’s tally of 111. The 35-year-old pace bowler Umesh Yadav became Nathan Lyon’s 112th victim.
Nathan Lyon played his first match of BGT in 2011 and since then he has played 25 matches, bowled 1,164.4 overs, conceded 36,008 runs and picked up 113 wickets. His best bowling figure in this series is 8/50. The only player closest to overtaking Nathan Lyon at this point is Ravichandran Ashwin. In 21 matches Ashwin has picked up 107 wickets with 7/103 as his best figure. The final match at Ahmedabad will decide who will walk away as the leading wicket-taker in the BGT.
Besides becoming the leading wicket-taker, Nathan Lyon has now moved up to the second position in leading wicket-taker against India, after surpassing Muttiah Muralitharan who has 105 wickets. Now the only player who stands in his way is one of the best pace bowlers in the history of cricket James Anderson. The 40-year-old pace bowler is still going strong and he has racked up 139 wickets against India.
Nathan Lyon can also surpass James Anderson in the fourth and final test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Lyon’s performance in the third test match instantly became the talking point in the entire cricket community. Even Rohit Sharma was in awe of Nathan Lyon. “Lyon should be at the top in my opinion. I have not played guys like Murali and Warner. Among the current crop he would be my number one overseas bowler to come and play here in India,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
India will now face Australia on 9th March at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. (ANI)
