Milestones in sight but Australians need Lyon to roar

Lyon has spoken repeatedly about how the Indians look to attack him, something he maintains he enjoys, but after three Tests, the Australian has only six wickets at 57.68 – the eighth best return of all bowlers in the series. There have been promising spells but the fruits of his labour have not been forthcoming. Spinning rival Ravi Ashwin is the second leading wicket-taker (12 at 28.83) and even took to his counterpart with the bat in defiant, match-saving knock on Monday.

On a day Australia’s pace attack also struggled to make multiple breakthroughs, Lyon did dismiss stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane in the morning when the batsman squeezed to short leg, and eventually ended Pant’s sparkling knock, which threatened to spear the tourists to victory.

Lyon’s craftsmanship was on show on each occasion. The delivery that dismissed Rahane was just 84.7km/h – the slowest ball Lyon had bowled to him, according to CricViz. It also spun 6.9 degrees, more than any other ball.

Warne, at one point critical of Lyon having too many catchers in the deep, was one of several commentators who took great delight in the battle between Lyon and Pant, who, on 97, was beaten by turn and bounce and sliced to backward point. According to CricViz, Lyon varied his pace in the lead-up to the dismissal, bowling a 97km/h delivery, then 81km/h, before a 87km/h delivery drew a mistimed drive.

“I thought his bowling was fantastic. The wicket, unfortunately, on that side [of the pitch] didn’t really break up, did it, so there was massive foot holes to the lefties [left-handers] but not a lot to the righties,” Paine said.

“I think that was probably due to a bit of rain on day one and two, it didn’t break up as much as a normal SCG wicket would. But I thought Nathan’s efforts to try and win that game [on Monday] were sensational.”

Lyon had trouble earlier in his career bowling Australia to victory when the spotlight was upon him. This included against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in 2014, and there were frustrations within the team about his inability to replicate Sri Lanka’s “straight” spinners on the humbling 2016 tour of Sri Lanka.

He has learnt from these experiences and, historically, his wicket-taking record on day five of a Test is good. He averages 29.48 per wicket on day five, bettered only by day four (23.61). Day one (53) has by far been his toughest.

His record in a fourth innings is also excellent and better than some of the greats of the game, having claimed 83 wickets – 21 per cent of his overall tally of wickets. By comparison, Warne took only 19 per cent of his wickets in the fourth innings, and Muttiah Muralitharan 13 per cent. His only blemish may be a strike rate of 60.8, which is about 10 deliveries more than Muralitharan and eight more than Warne.

Lyon’s overall record against India is strong – his 91 wickets (in 21 Tests) the most against any nation he has played.

However, that he couldn’t deliver victory despite being given 46 overs on a spin-friendly deck in India’ second innings will hurt. That he conceded 114 runs – only once has he leaked more runs in the fourth innings of a home Test – reinforced how tough a slog it was for the home team in a series locked at 1-1 with one match remaining.

It’s now on to Brisbane, where Lyon has an encouraging record of 35 wickets at 29.37 in nine Tests at the Gabba, including five against India in 2014. He has spoken previously of the Gabba being one of his favourite venues.

“Bounce is a big weapon for me, so I’m looking forward to getting a bit more bounce out there,” Lyon said.

Having arguably left Sydney with a deflated vibe, Lyon and his teammates will hope to quickly rediscover their bounce at a venue the Australians have not been beaten at since 1988-89.

Five sins of Sydney

Wasted opportunities

The poor catching of Melbourne carried over to Sydney, highlighted by Tim Paine spilling three chances on Monday – the first time he has dropped more than one catch in an innings since returning to the side in 2017.

Remain composed

Paine has apologised for his poor behaviour and admitted he had been agitated throughout the entire match. He typically lightens the mood in the dressingroom and must get back to doing that at the Gabba.

Where is ‘Gaz’?

Nathan Lyon has only six wickets in the series, and couldn’t weave a tale of destruction on a spin-friendly deck. He needs to find away to counter India’s attacking manner.

Time for Matthew Wade to deliver

The Tasmanian has not passed 40 in the series and too often had thrown his wicket away. Having taken a hit for the team by opening in Adelaide and Melbourne, his hold on No.5 is now shaky.

Pitching up

There was a feeling the Australians did not hunt the pads enough in Sydney and over attacked with the short ball, a trap many a side has also fallen into at the Gabba because of its bouncy deck.