If Nathan Lyon had been the captain of India, he would have responded angrily if Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin were referred to as lower-order hitters. After India had slipped to 139/7 on an entertaining second day, Ashwin (37) and Axar (74) contributed 114 runs for the eighth wicket, with Lyon getting his 22nd five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The two Indian players impressed the Australian spinner with their tough batting performance, and he said they could easily bat at No. 6 for any Test-playing squad.
“They are not lower-order (batters). Let’s get that clear. Axar and Ash could easily bat in the top-six in a few teams in Test cricket around the world in my eyes. They (India) have a very long top order, let’s just say that,” said Lyon. Axar and Ashwin’s efforts helped India cut Australia’s first-inning advantage to just one run. Australia scored 61/1 in their second innings after a strong start, but Lyon indicated he won’t set targets just yet.
“I’m not going to give you a number. Whatever we get we have to make sure it’s enough. That’s the mentality we need to do (go with); we need to come here tomorrow and be really brave.” Travis Head has come out all guns blazing scoring 39 in quick time and Lyon said he trusts his team-mate’s aggressive methods.
“We need to trust the guys’ methods when they have the support of the whole change room to go out there and play the way they want to play and the way they think they can combat the quality bowling India have. Whatever we set, we have just got to make sure it’s enough.” Lyon said the more bounce he could extract from the Ferozeshah Kotla track had helped him immensely.
“There is (a) lot more bounce in Delhi compared to Nagpur, which I obviously like to exploit.” Lyon got all his five wickets — his second five-for in Delhi after the 2013-14 series — from the Old Pavilion End, as the cracks created at the Ambedkar Stadium End helped in generating uneven bounce.
“Bowling around the wicket in this game, I’m still trying to target off stump. That’s my goal. If you understand cricket, you will understand what I am trying to do and trying to get them defending because we know how good the Indian batters are. If I can make them defend, hopefully, I’ll create a few chances here and there.”