Pujara and Lyon rivalry reaches new heights; overcomes Sangakkara and Ajmal
Nathan Lyon looks on as India inch towards win (Twitter)
Cheteshwar Pujara, playing in his 100th Test, fittingly notched up the winning runs for his country against Australia in Delhi. The cricketer scored 31* in all to sum up an easy run-chase for India, shortly after the hosts’ spinners had shattered the Australian batting inside the opening session of Day 3.
Notably, Pujara also got some runs in the innings against familiar nemesis Nathan Lyon, who bagged seven Indian wickets in the match.
Pujara achieves rare Test record against Lyon
The senior Indian batter scored an unbeaten 31 against Australia on Day 3 to script a six-wicket win and a 2-0 series lead for his side. He countered the likes of Australia’s in-form spinners, veteran Nathan Lyon and one-Test old Todd Murphy.
Pujara’s run-chase special has now taken him to a new height in Test cricket. Out of the 7,000-plus runs he has aggregated in the format, he has scored 532 of those against a single bowler, Nathan Lyon. This tally against the Australian off-spinner marks as the most runs scored by any single batter against a single bowler in Tests, surpassing the previous record set by Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara against former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal.
Despite Pujara’s prolific stats against Lyon, the 35-year-old Australian is not exactly prone to his batting craftsmanship. The off-spinner himself has dismissed the Indian 11 times in Test cricket, including once in the first innings of this match.
The rivalry between the two cricketers is often hailed as one of the biggest of modern-day Tests. The two titans have exchanged enough blows and their face-off has often taken centre-stage in the past Border-Gavaskar titles.
Moreover, the visitors will be hoping for Lyon to upstage his Indian rival a number of times in the remaining two Tests, if Pat Cummins and co. are to entertain any chances of levelling the series.
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