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Nathan Lyon leapfrogs Ravichandran Ashwin to become leading wicket-taker in Test cricket
Nathan had earlier scalped seven wickets in Bangladesh`s first innings thereby finishing the Test match with a figure of 13/154 - the best Test match figures by an Australian bowler on Asian soil, eclipsing his own teammate Steve O`Keefe`s 12/70 against India earlier this year.
New Delhi: G.O.A.T! That is what he is known as in Australian cricket. And on Wednesday the off-spinner Nathan Lyon displayed his incredibility with the ball to finish with an impressive six-wicket haul as Australia defeated Bangladesh at Chittagong on Day four of the second Test. Ergo, Lyon surpassed Ravichandran Ashwin to become the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Nathan Lyon combined with pacer Pat Cummins to reduce the home side to 37 for three in the 17th over of their second innings with the willow with the spinner picking up two. He returned back to for his second and then his third to finish of Mushfiqur Rahim-led side to an abysmal 157 runs. With 6/33 Lyon bagged his 12 th five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
En route the offie claimed 22 wickets in the series, the second most by a bowler in a two-match Test series. He now stands second on the list alongside Shane Warne, but just one behind Sri Lankan veteran Rangana Herath. The 22 wickets included three consecutive five-fors, a feat that was last achieved by Warne back in 2004.
Nathan had earlier scalped seven wickets in Bangladesh's first innings thereby finishing the Test match with a figure of 13/154 – the best Test match figures by an Australian bowler on Asian soil, eclipsing his own teammate Steve O'Keefe's 12/70 against India earlier this year. Adding to it, he is the only bowler from a visiting side, apart from England's Ian Botham, to take 13 wickets in Asia.
Ergo, Nathan Lyon now has a total of 46 wickets in Test cricket in 2017 at an average of 22.35. He edged past the Indian spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja who both has 44 wickets to their name. Adding to it, he now nas 41 wickets from sixe Test matches on Asian soil in 2017, and thus leapfrogged fellow Aussie Warne who had scalped a total of 40 wickets in six matches in 2004. Leading the chart is England's Graeme Swann with 49 scalps in nine matches in 2012.
Lyon's wizardry once again proved worthy for the Aussie as the tourists drew the two-match series 1-1 against Bangladesh. It was their 144th Test win on foreign soil, equalling the record held by England.