India and Australia will be facing each other in the second test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy on Friday ( 17th February) in Delhi. Virat Kohli will be eyeing to score his first test century since 2019 in his home ground against his favourite opponent. Australia’s legendary off-spinner Nathan Lyon acknowledged Kohli’s popularity by saying that bowling against him feels like the whole nation is behind him.
Lyon on becoming the most hated cricketer against Kohli-
“Coming up against Virat Kohli, it feels like you’ve got the nation against you. If you’ve got a little bit of success and get Virat out or create a chance, you become the most hated cricketer in world cricket quite quickly. I’ve had a little bit of experience on that front bowling to Sachin Tendulkar a number of years ago now,” said off-spinner Lyon.
The 35-year-old Lyon bowled against Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar in the India tour of Australia in 2011-12, Men in Blue were clean swept by the Michael Clarke-led side in the four test match series.
“Virat probably being one of the best in the world cricket for a long period of time, for him to constantly perform in high level. It’s been a privilege to play against him and compete. I’ve always said that I want to compete against the best in the world and Virat probably has provided me with the best challenge,” said Lyon.
A pacer's delight! ??@MdShami11 uproots the stumps to get Nathan Lyon out as #TeamIndia are just one wicket away from victory in Nagpur ??
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/SwTGoyHfZx…#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/ptFxk6ZIlc
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 11, 2023
Australia’s third-highest wicket-taker in test matches, the orthodox spinner Lyon has taken 461 wickets in 166 matches for his side. India’s premium off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is behind Lyon with his 457 wickets in 89 matches.
It will interesting to see if Lyon will be available to dominate against Indian batting lineups in this series with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Indian cricket team won the first test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy at Nagpur. Men in Blue won the game by an inning and 132 runs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
Asian giants have successfully retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy from the last three editions in which two came down under. Australia last won the test series in India in the 2004-05 series under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy tenure.