Lyon eats away India’s advantage

Dharamsala,  Six down with only 248 runs on the board, still 52 behind Australia’s 300. India must be ruing that they could not go full press ahead, but they would find some solace in the fact that they were not wiped out on Day 2 of the fourth and final Test.
Nathan Lyon’s four-wicket haul in the final session dragged India back just when they were looking to take off after ducking a fiery session of pace bowling by Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
Lyon finally emerged from a three-week hibernation: On March 4, the first day of the Bengaluru Test, he’d picked up 8/50. In the next three Test innings, in Bengaluru and Ranchi, he bowled 79 overs, gave away 245 runs and picked up only one wicket.
Today, though, the off-spinner gradually got into his rhythm, giving flight to the ball, making it dip, turn and then bounce sharply. All his scalps were the victims of this ploy.
Same ploy
Cheteshwar Pujara (56) became his first victim immediately after the start of the post-tea session, a flighted delivery ripping back to kiss his glove and lobbing up to short-leg. An over later, Karun Nair fell the same way, this time wicketkeeper Mathew Wade pouching an easy catch at short-leg.
Ajinkya Rahane had been milking him for singles and occasional boundaries. But Lyon kept coming back at him from around the wicket to negate his sweeps. Ultimately, a fuller but flatter delivery bounced on the Indian captain to induce an edge and Steve Smith, at first slip, held on to a spectacular catch.
Ravichandran Ashwin (30) was caught on the back foot by a ball that beat his inside edge and pinned him right in front of the wicket. Ashwin went for a DRS review, but the replays showed the ball hitting the middle stump, and the on-field umpire’s decision stayed.
Lyon finished the day with 4/68, becoming the third in the list of the spinners with the most wickets against India, behind Muttiah Muralitharan (105), and equal with Lance Gibbs (63).
Lyon had begun the day rather tamely, restricted to the role of checking the run-flow but as the day progressed, the wicket started obliging him.
Relentless pace
In the morning, India thought it wise to preserve the wickets against the relentless pace attack of Hazlewood and Cummins.
Hazlewood confronting Murali Vijay (11) and Cummins’ long spell of near-150 kmph bouncers to KL Rahul marked the fiery first session. India got a respite, though, as Matt Renshaw dropped Rahul at first slip in the 12th over. Late in the day, Renshaw dropped Wriddhiman Saha off Cummins, again at first slip, in the 88th over. Pujara and Rahul saw off the first session at 64/1.
In the second session, after Rahul fell trying to hook Cummins, Pujara was joined by Rahane and the two took India to 153/2 at tea, adding 89 runs in 32 overs in the session.
Thereafter, India slipped from 157/2 to 167/4, courtesy Lyon. At this point, Rahane and Ashwin added 49 runs and things again started looking up for the hosts, but Lyon then snared two quick wickets, Rahane and Ashwin.
That brought in Ravindra Jadeja, and the allrounder has already struck two sixers in his unbeaten 16. His aggression and the tenacity of Wriddhiman Saha (10) would determine how long would India bat on Day 3.
Australia have bowled only four overs with the second new ball and tomorrow morning, they would like to wrap up India’s innings as soon as possible because batting on this track is going to get increasingly difficult.
Lyon on wicket and his bowling
“After bowling a couple of overs before lunch, I sat down and thought about what it (pitch) is similar to. And it was closer to a home wicket where the bounce is my biggest weapon, where I am getting guys caught at bat pad and slips. I went back to how I bowl, which is probably how I should bowl.”

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