Nathan Lyon has given a strong message to the Australian batter and said that he wants the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to score big runs against India in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 Test series. Australia will host India for a five-Test series for the first time since 1991-92.
Australia has not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series since 2014-15. Australia has even lost back-to-back Test series at home to India in 2018-19 and 2020-21. They have then lost to India in India in 2017, 2021 and 2023.
Australia are itching to add the BGT to their cabinet of trophies and in the process confirm their spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 final as well.
Ahead of the five-Test series against India, Nathan Lyon wants Australian top-order batsmen to come up and hit big hundreds in the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series.
“We need big runs. We need the guys, who are talented enough to get the hundred. The likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Travis Head, all the top order. I don’t want 101 or 107, I want 180 and 200. If I will have a day off, I am pretty sure that I will be more effective and can help my team win the Test match,” Nathan Lyon replied to Australian women’s team captain Alysa Healy on the “Willow Talk” podcast.
Nathan Lyon reveals he is excited to face off against Yashasvi Jaiswal
Nathan Lyon added that he is already looking forward to his match against 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is renowned for striking the ball hard. The Australian spinner stated he had a lengthy conversation with England left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, with whom he played for Lancashire during his county stint.
“I had a really good chat with Tom Hartley, just about the way he went about it, when Jaiswal went after him. That’s something I picked up from him. Will Sarfaraz come over here or will it be Rahul? They got a side full of superstars,” Nathan Lyon stated.
During the five-match series, Lyon said he is eager to renew his rivalry with Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. Lyon also said he doesn’t believe with the opinion that the Test cricket is dying.
“Having Virat out here, Rishabh Pant has been picked for the Tests against Bangladesh, so that’s an amazing story. It’s going to be pretty big. I am really forward to play the five-match series. This series is getting bigger and bigger and when people says that Test cricket is dying, I disagree,” he said.
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