Australia’s veteran off-spinner, Nathan Lyon, had an incredible time during the first of the two-match Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium. Once the visiting side posted 654 runs on the board in the first innings, after their captain Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat, it was always going to be tough for the home side to make a comeback in the contest.
Nathan Lyon picked up three wickets in their first innings of bowling in 20 overs. He found the inside edge of Angelo Matthews into the hands of Travis Head at short leg before Nishan Peiris’ wayward shot died in the hands of Josh Inglis. Dinesh Chandimal, on 72, looked to reverse the bowler but was trapped leg before the stumps by the straight delivery.
The New South Wales spinner didn’t have a great time in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at home. With the surfaces being spicy for the pace bowling, Pat Cummins didn’t use the veteran spinner on a few occasions. Lyon picked up just nine wickets in 122.4 overs in the five-match series at an average of 36.88 and a strike rate of 81.77, with the best bowling figure of 3/96 in an inning.
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Overall, Nathan Lyon celebrated 33 Test wickets in 16 innings at an average of 22.69 and a strike rate of 49 with one five-wicket and ten-wicket haul, shouldering on the best figure of 6/65 in an inning.
Nathan Lyon becomes the first player to celebrate 200+ wickets in WTC
The 37-year-old is the third leading wicket-taker for Australia in the red-ball format. Across all the teams, he is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in the longest format, with 546 scalps in 251 innings at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 61.77. The off-spinner has celebrated 24 five-wicket and five ten-wicket hauls.
In this ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, he is the fifth leading wicket-taker with 59 scalps in 26 innings at an average of below 24 and a strike rate of 45.84.
The ace Australian spinner has leapfrogged their captain, Pat Cummins, to become the leading wicket-taker of the WTC, becoming the first bowler in the world to take 200+ wickets in the tournament’s history. Nathan Lyon has currently bagged 203 wickets in 87 innings at an average of just under 27 and a strike rate of 58.25, thanks to ten five-wicket hauls at the best bowling figure of 8/64 in an inning.
India’s former spin all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from international cricket during the third Gabba Test of the BGT 2024-25, is the third leading wicket-taker in the list with 195 scalps in 78 innings at an average of 21.49 and a strike rate of 45.50.
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Nathan Lyon also surpassed the Chennai-born in the list of most wickets by a visiting bowler on Sri Lankan soil. The TN bowler bagged 38 Test wickets in the Island, and Lyon leapfrogged him after dismissing Prabath Jayasuriya, his fourth wicket of the second innings.
Australia took a series lead by 0-1, thanks to their huge victory by an innings and 242 runs. But they will hope to register a victory in that country after a long time. Their biggest focus is, however, on the WTC 2023-25 final against South Africa at Lord’s.
Most Test Wickets In WTC History
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Average | 4W | 5W |
| Nathan Lyon | 49 | 203 | 26.89 | 12 | 10 |
| Pat Cummins | 47 | 200 | 22.63 | 10 | 09 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 41 | 195 | 21.49 | 09 | 11 |
| Mitchell Starc | 44 | 168 | 26.92 | 10 | 04 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 35 | 156 | 18.61 | 07 | 10 |