Lyon bags EIGHT in emphatic statement as ‘game-changing’ grabs set up nailbiting finish

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed eight wickets on a dramatic day two of the third Test in Indore, with Cheteshwar Pujara providing India some hope of an unlikely comeback victory.

The Australians will chase 76 for victory on day three after India was bowled out for 163 in the second innings on Thursday.

Earlier, the tourists were bowled out for 197 in the morning session, giving Australia a first-innings lead of 88, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav each taking three wickets during a frantic 29-minute collapse.

Lyon ran riot in the afternoon with figures of 8-64 from 23.3 overs, while Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith producing stunning diving catches to keep Australia in a dominant position.

Khawaja had not fielded for the start of India’s innings due to reported calf and back soreness, but shook off his injury woes to leap into the air and dismiss the dangerous Shreyas Iyer.

As it happened

Peter Handscomb and Cameron Green survived the first hour on day two, patiently peeling off 30 runs in the opening 16 overs of the morning session. The pitch had seemingly settled down after Wednesday’s carnage, with less turn and variable bounce on offer for India’s spinners.

Australia was cruising at 4-186 when veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin snared the first breakthrough moments after the drinks break, with Handscomb caught at short leg for 19.

Green departed the following over for 21 after paceman Umesh Yadav struck the all-rounder on the back pad, with umpire Joel Wilson raising the dreaded finger. The West Australian called for a review, with Hawkeye suggesting the ball would have clipped the top of the leg stump.

Yadav continued wreaking havoc with the old ball, sending Mitchell Starc’s off stump flying with an absolute peach from around the wicket that nipped away from the left-hander.

At the other end, Ashwin trapped Alex Carey on the pads for 3 — a desperate review couldn’t save the wicketkeeper.

Todd Murphy departed in almost identical fashion to Starc, with Yadav getting the left-hander’s off stump to cartwheel towards the slip cordon, gone for a duck.

Ashwin wrapped up the innings by bowling Lyon for 4, with the Australian tailender botching a sweep shot. The visitors had lost 6-11 in 34 eventful deliveries.

Khawaja was not on the field when India’s second innings got underway, with the opener nursing some back stiffness. Blood was also seen oozing from Starc’s wounded finger during his opening spell.

Lyon snared Australia’s first wicket immediately after the lunch break, with Indian opener Shubman Gill recklessly charging down the pitch and missing a straight one, bowled for 5.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma was the next to depart, also falling victim to Lyon — the veteran off-spinner wrapped him on the pads plumb LBW for 12, with Sharma calling for one of the worst reviews in Test history before sheepishly walking off.

Matthew Kuhnemann struck Virat Kohli on the glove in the 23rd over, but the ball fell agonisingly short of Handscomb at second slip. However, the Queenslander tweaker got his man a couple of minutes later — a faster, flatter delivery shot through and struck Kohli on the pads, with Wilson awarding the dismissal. Kohli didn’t bother calling for a review.

Pujara was unfazed at the other end, slapping a pair of boundaries during Kuhnemann’s following over to ensure Australia needed to bat again.

The umpiring once again came under the microscope when Lyon returned to take his third wicket of the day, trapping Ravindra Jadeja on the pads for 7.

Despite an energetic appeal from the Australians, Wilson was unmoved at the non-striker’s end. Steve Smith called for a review, which showed Jadeja was absolutely plumb, and India was suddenly four down.

After the tea break, Shreyas Iyer smacked five emphatic boundaries to send a scare through the Australian camp, but Smith responded smartly by turning to Starc, and the swap paid dividends.

A superb diving catch from Khawaja at mid-wicket was needed to end Iyer’s counterpunching knock, with the Indian batter departing for 26 (27).

Indian wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat (3) followed shortly afterwards as Lyon picked up his fourth of the innings with a quicker ball that beat the outside edge and smashed into the stumps.

Pujara brought up his 35th Test half-century from 108 balls, playing a crucial hand in India’s hopes of victory and growing in confidence through the innings.

“He’s been a picture of concentration,” former Test batter Matthew Hayden said in commentary for Fox Cricket. “He’s really showing everyone how to play on this track.”

Pujara, on 51 at the time. was extremely lucky to survive when Marnus Labuschagne dropped an opportunity at mid-wicket, moving well to get both hands to the ball before it squirted through his fingers.

But Lyon hit back immediately afterwards by getting Ashwin LBW for 16, with Australia immediately reviewing when Wilson turned down their vocal appeals.

India’s coaching team sent a message down to the ground at drinks, apparently instructing their batters to go on the assault – and the normally defensive-minded Pujara wasted no time by smashing a monster six off Lyon.

But Smith swung momentum firmly back in Australia’s favour with an all-time catch at leg slip to remove Pujara for 59. The Indian batter flicked a delivery down the leg side, and the Australian skipper lunged low to his right, taking a stunning one-handed grab.

Lyon thought he was on a hat-trick when Yadav was adjudicated out LBW the following delivery, but the incorrect decision was overturned after a review.

Yadav couldn’t make the most of the reprieve, attempting to smack Lyon’s next delivery out of the ground, instead caught at deep mid-wicket for a second-ball duck.

Lyon secured his second eight-wicket haul in Tests by bowling Indian tailender Mohammed Siraj for a duck. He becomes the only Australian spinner in Test history with multiple eight-wicket hauls, a feat the late Shane Warne never achieved.

The third Test between India and Australia will resume on Friday, with the first ball of day three scheduled for 3pm AEDT.