Spin king boldly claims Murphy ‘10 to 50 times better’ than Lyon on Indian Test debut

Indian spin king Ravi Ashwin has boldly claimed Todd Murphy was “10 to 50 times better” than Nathan Lyon was on his first tour of the nation in a glowing endorsement of the Aussie youngster.

Murphy burst onto the scene by snaring seven wickets on his Test debut, although it was not a memorable one in terms of the result as Australia lost by an innings and 132 runs.

The 22-year-old ultimately finished the tour with 14 wickets from four Tests, just six behind Lyon.

It was Murphy’s “capacity and composure” to bowl both over and around the wicket that had Ashwin singing the Aussie youngster’s praises.

“Nathan Lyon did pick up 20 wickets in this series,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“However, the pressure was built by other spinners too. Todd Murphy had a sensational debut series.

“You might wonder what is there to talk about Todd Murphy. This is his first tour to India.

“I remember many spinners’ first tour to India. Nathan Lyon came here first in 2013. He went to Sri Lanka before that.

“Todd Murphy came here 10 to 50 times better than how Nathan Lyon came here on his first Test tour.

“I am not saying that he is a better bowler in terms of quality, skill or performance. I am talking about his capacity and composure to be able to bowl around the stumps and over the stumps.”

It wasn’t just Murphy’s ability with the ball that impressed Australian cricket fans.

The tailender put together a memorable 70-run partnership with Lyon in Australia’s first innings of the fourth Test in which the spectacled spinner scored 41 runs from 61 balls.