Australia’s veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon said some of his team members were surprised by the reaction of the Indian team members to the postponement of the follow-on on the fourth day of the third Test at the Gabba. At the Gabba, a last-wicket partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep helped India avoid the follow-on and avert a possible innings defeat. As soon as Akash got a thick outside edge over gully off Pat Cummins, it sparked jubilant reactions and high-fives among captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir and talismanic batsman Virat Kohli.
“There are some of us who talked about (how we are) surprised by their reaction. We have played well and taken the game to where we are. It’s frustrating but we’re still sitting up front in changing room 185. I still think if we bat well we can try to help Australia win.”
“We can’t control the weather. What we can control is our process. Especially his performance in this series against Jasprit Bumrah has been excellent. (India’s response) It looked like their top order didn’t want to bat if we enforced the follow-on. It was quite challenging to enforce the follow-on after Josh was out,” Lyon told broadcasters Fox Sports during a rain break on the fifth day of play.
Having bowled only 196 overs so far in the Test, Lyon lamented the interruption of proceedings due to weather, especially after losing the wicket of Hazlewood to a calf strain. “It’s really disappointing. This has been the trend this week. I still feel there is a lot of cricket left in our game. We just need the weather to go away.
“Mitch and Pat, they have been fantastic for Australia over many years and I have been privileged to be a part of this Australian bowling attack. His work ethic is excellent. We are proud of our fielding and we did it after seeing the Australian players in front of us.
Lyon also expressed his opinion on India using three different spinners in the series so far, and said he would like to see Ravichandran Ashwin play in the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.
“This is an interesting question. You’ve got someone sitting (on the bench) with over 530 Test wickets and I’m walking out onto the field scratching my head saying, ‘What are you doing?’ He has proved that he is one of the best spin bowlers in the world to have played the game. I hope Ash will play in Melbourne and Sydney.
“(It) surprises me a lot. This is the quality of the Indian cricketers in that team. You have Ashwin who has taken more than 530 wickets (536) and then Jadeja who has taken more than 300 wickets (319). It is remarkable to see the quality of the players on the bench. It’s a good headache.”
“Nothing but respect. The way Aish has conducted himself on and off the field over the years, and his skill is incredible. We have different opinions on different things, there is no right or wrong in it.”
“But to interact with a bowler like Ashwin is amazing. From different variations to different tactics, understanding what he’s trying to do. We both are very different. So we had a great conversation this morning and I hope we have a lot more to do through the series and in the future.”
Lyon, who made his Test debut in 2011, signed off by revealing the message he gave himself before playing his first game for Australia. “Believe in yourself. I was very lucky that the team I came into, Michael Clarke was the captain and there were a lot of great players in and around that team and I had that support.”
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