5 best performances of Nathan Lyon against India

Nathan Lyon is arguably the greatest off-spinner to have ever represented Australia in the longest form of the game. Since making his debut way back in 2011, Lyon has featured in 117 test matches, claiming 466 wickets in the process.

The veteran tweaker has also taken a special liking to India, having done quite well against them over the years. He has played 25 tests against the Indians, picking up 100 wickets in the process. Only three bowlers have taken 100 or more wickets against India in tests, with Lyon being one of them.

The 35-year-old took his 100th wicket against India during the ongoing Test in Delhi. His reaching the landmark gives us a good opportunity to look back at some of his best performances against the India side over the years.

Here, we look at Nathan Lyon's top 5 bowling performances against India.

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#1 5-67, Delhi (2023)

Nathan Lyon helped Australia restrict India to 66-4 before the hosts recovered

After a forgettable outing in the first test at Nagpur, Lyon roared back in Delhi, claiming a five-wicket haul. All his wickets were those of proper batters, in the form of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, and KS Bharat.

Lyon bowled as well as he ever has against India as he put the host team's batsmen on the back foot. His tight and disciplined bowling reduced the Indians to a score of 66-4.

The 'GOAT' put his side in a great position to take a lead in the first innings, but a fightback from Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin restricted the visitors' lead to just one run.

Over the course of the innings, Lyon reached the landmark of 100 test wickets against India too.

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#2 5-134 and 7-152, Adelaide (2012)

This was the very first Test in which India's most successful captain led his side for the first time. Requiring a big chase to win on Day 5, captain Virat Kohli was interested in going for the win rather than settling for a draw.

India were in a good position at 242-3, but Nathan Lyon destroyed India's hopes of a famous win, claiming stunning figures of 7-152.

He picked up the wickets of the well-set Murali Vijay (99) and Virat Kohli (141) and also got rid of the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, and Ajinkya Rahane. His effort helped Australia win the game by 48 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

Earlier, he had picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings as well and was quite deservingly adjudged the Player of the Match.

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#3 8-50, Bangalore (2017)

In the 2017 series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, held in India, Nathan Lyon shone in the second test in Bangalore, returning figures of 8-50 in the first innings.

Lyon's effort put the Aussies in pole position to win the game and take an unassailable lead in the series. But a disastrous batting display in the second innings cost the visitors big time. India eventually won the game by 75 runs.

HIs returns in this game are his best figures in the format till date.

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#4 6-122, Adelaide (2018)

In the first Test of the historic 2018 series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Nathan Lyon bowled with a lot of heart in the 2nd innings to end with figures of 6-122. He got rid of some big fish like Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant over the course of the innings.

Australia lost that game owing to some poor batting and India eventually won the series as well.

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#5 7-94, Delhi (2013)

Delhi has been a happy hunting ground for Nathan Lyon, who picked up seven wickets in his first outing at the venue. This was during his first tour of India back in 2013.

The Aussies made 262 in the first innings and it was Lyon's sensational bowling that helped the visitors restrict the hosts to a lead of just 10 runs before the start of the second innings. He also picked up the priceless wicket of the great Sachin Tendulkar in the process.

Though Australia lost this Test and got whitewashed 4-0 as a result, Nathan Lyon, after struggling in the series and even getting dropped once, proved his quality.