Star Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has continued his astonishing run of breaking records during the ongoing Test series against India in the fourth Test as well which is taking place in Ahmedabad. After becoming the leading wicket-taker in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy’s history in the third Test match that was played in Indore last week, Lyon created a new bowling record on Sunday (March 12), during the fourth day’s play of the fourth and final 2023 Border-Gavaskar Test. The 35-year-old spinner broke a 41-year-old record to become the leading overseas wicket-taker in India in Test matches.
By removing Indian wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat for 44 runs on the fourth ball of the 137th over of India’s first innings, Lyon picked up his 55th Test wicket in India, which took him past former England spinner Derek Underwood’s tally of 54 Test wickets in India. Underwood played a total of 16 Tests against India to get rid of 54 batters, whereas in his 11th Test only, Lyon broke his record. No other bowler, apart from Indian cricketers, has taken more wickets than Lyon in India, and this record is something Lyon will be very proud of.
POSITION | PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST FIGURES (INNINGS) |
1. | Nathan Lyon | Australia | 11* | 55* | 8/50 |
2. | Derek Underwood | England | 16 | 54 | 5/84 |
3. | Richie Benaud | Australia | 8 | 52 | 7/72 |
4. | Courtney Walsh | West Indies | 7 | 43 | 6/79 |
5. | Muttiah Muralitharan | Sri Lanka | 10 | 40 | 7/100 |
Many great bowlers like Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram, Courtney Walsh, Brett Lee, James Anderson, Glenn McGrath, and Stuart Broad, among others, have played multiple Test matches in India, but no one has as many wickets as Lyon.
Lyon, who accounted for the dismissal of eight Indian batters during the second innings of the third Test in Indore, needed two wickets to leapfrog Underwood before the start of the ongoing Test, and he equaled his tally by removing Shubman Gill (128) on Saturday during the final session of the third day’s play. And then on Sunday, he reached the No. 1 position. But despite achieving the feat, the fourth Test has been a frustrating one for Lyon. He has so far bowled a total of 60 overs but has only managed to take 2 wickets for 131 runs.